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Updated: Dec 13, 2025

Dissecting Innate Immune Signaling in Viral Evasion of Cytokine Production
Published on: March 2, 2014
Innate immune evasion by SARS-CoV-2: Comparison with SARS-CoV
1Laboratory of Immunohematology and Cellular Therapy, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Mohammed First University, Oujda, Morocco.
Abstract:
SARS-CoV-2 virus, a member of the Coronaviridae family, causes Covid-19 pandemic disease with severe respiratory illness. Multiple strategies enable SARS-CoV-2 to eventually overcome antiviral innate immune mechanisms which are important components of viral pathogenesis. This review considers several mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 innate immune evasion including suppression of IFN-α/β production at the earliest stage of infection, mechanisms that exhaust natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity, overstimulation of NLRP3 inflammasome and induction of a cytokine storm. A comparison with SARS-CoV is made. Greater knowledge of these and other immune evasion tactics may provide us with improved possibilities for research into this novel deadly virus.
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