COVID-19 Patients Upregulate Toll-like Receptor 4-mediated Inflammatory Signaling That Mimics Bacterial Sepsis

• DOI: 10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e343
• Publication Date: 2020-09-17T00:49:06Z
• Authors: Kyung Mok Sohn; Sung-Gwon Lee; Hyeon Ji Kim; Shinhyea Cheon; Hyeongseok Jeong; Jooyeon Lee; In Soo Kim; Prashanta Silwal; Young Jae Kim; Seungwha Paik; Chaeuk Chung; Chungoo Park; Yeon-Sook Kim; Eun-Kyeong Jo
• Keywords: 2019-20 coronavirus outbreak

Observational studies of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak suggest that a 'cytokine storm' is involved in pathogenesis severe illness. However, molecular mechanisms underlying altered pathological inflammation COVID-19 are largely unknown. We report here toll-like receptor (TLR) 4-mediated inflammatory signaling molecules upregulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients, compared with healthy controls (HC).