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Updated: Dec 11, 2025

Author Spotlight: Unveiling the Polyfunctionality and Heterogeneity in Immune Responses
Published on: March 8, 2024
Cytokines and COVID-19: friends or foes?
Mohsen Rokni1, Michael R Hamblin2,3, Nima Rezaei1,4,5
1Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences , Tehran, Iran.
Abstract:
The cytokine storm following sepsis has been proven to be an important mechanism for triggering acute respiratory distress syndrome, which is a fatal uncontrolled systemic inflammation characterized by high concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, secreted by immune effector cells. The cytokine storm also occurs in the recently emerged novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Therefore, cytokines which usually help the immune system to fight infections are potentially harmful in the course of COVID-19 infections. Therefore, avoiding or mitigating the cytokine storm may be a key treatment for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
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