The conundrum of interleukin-6 blockade in COVID-19
19 Aug, 2020Since the very first cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection were identified in China, patients with severe manifestations of COVID-19 have been shown to develop a hyperinflammatory syndrome resembling that seen in patients with either macrophage-activation syndrome or cytokine-release syndrome associated with chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy.
As a result, in the absence of a specific antiviral treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infection, many therapeutic efforts have focused on use of immunosuppressive drugs targeting the potential mediators of this hyperinflammatory state.
Since interleukin (IL)-6 blocking agents have been effectively used for treating patients with hyperinflammatory states, and because increased amounts of IL-6 have been reported in patients with COVID-19, strategies aimed at inhibiting this cytokine have been rapidly attempted.
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