Immunomodulation: a broad perspective for patients’ survival of COVID-19 infection

The pathogenesis of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is yet to be well understood. However, patients with the virus show clinical manifestations which are very similar to those of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. This and other scientific findings reveal that acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is the main cause of death in most COVID-19 patients. A vital mechanism for the development of the ARDS is cytokine storm which arises from an aggressive uncontrolled systemic inflammatory response that results from the release of large numbers of pro-inflammatory cytokines. This review seeks to draw the attention of the scientific community to the possibilities of improving the clinical outcome of COVID-19 patients based on the knowledge of altering the development of this hyper-inflammatory process by suggesting drugs that targets the implicated immune cells, receptors, cytokines and inflammatory pathways without having generalized effect on the entire immune system. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.395677