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Updated: Nov 22, 2025

In vivo Liver Endocytosis Followed by Purification of Liver Cells by Liver Perfusion
Published on: November 10, 2011
The Artificial-Liver Blood-Purification System Can Effectively Improve Hypercytokinemia for COVID-19
Jing Guo1, He Xia1, Shuting Wang1
1State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Insights
Artificial-liver blood-purification system (ALS) shows promise in treating COVID-19 by mitigating cytokine storms. This innovative approach rapidly removes inflammatory mediators, potentially improving outcomes for severe cases.
Area of Science:
- Critical Care Medicine
- Infectious Diseases
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose a significant global health challenge.
- Severe COVID-19 cases are often characterized by a dangerous cytokine storm.
- Current treatments for severe COVID-19, particularly those involving cytokine storms, remain limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the efficacy of the artificial-liver blood-purification system (ALS) in managing cytokine storms associated with COVID-19.
- To assess the impact of ALS on inflammatory mediator levels in COVID-19 patients.
Main Methods:
- Cytokine levels were measured in 12 COVID-19 patients before and after treatment with ALS.
- The study monitored the removal of inflammatory mediators by the ALS.
Main Results:
- Preliminary results indicate that ALS treatment led to a reduction in cytokine levels.
- The artificial-liver blood-purification system demonstrated the ability to rapidly remove inflammatory mediators.
- Observed outcomes suggest a potential suppression of disease progression.
Conclusions:
- The artificial-liver blood-purification system (ALS) shows potential as a novel therapeutic strategy for COVID-19.
- ALS may effectively block cytokine storms and reduce inflammation in severe COVID-19 patients.
- Further research is warranted to confirm the clinical utility of ALS in COVID-19 treatment.
Abstract:
Since the December 2019 outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, the infection has spread locally and globally resulting in a pandemic. As the numbers of confirmed diagnoses and deaths continue to rise, COVID-19 has become the focus of international public health. COVID-19 is highly contagious, and there is no effective treatment yet. New treatment strategies are urgently needed to improve the treatment success rate of severe and critically ill patients. Increasing evidence has shown that a cytokine storm plays an important role in the progression of COVID-19. The artificial-liver blood-purification system (ALS) is expected to improve the outcome of the cytokine storm. In the present study, the levels of cytokines were detected in 12 COVID-19 patients pre- and post-ALS with promising results. The present study shows promising evidence that ALS can block the cytokine storm, rapidly remove the inflammatory mediators, and hopefully, suppress the progression of the disease, thereby providing a new strategy for the clinical treatment of COVID-19.

