Int J Med Sci . Role of IL-6 inhibitor in treatment of COVID-19-related cytokine release syndrome

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Int J Med Sci


. 2021 Jan 21;18(6):1356-1362.
doi: 10.7150/ijms.53564. eCollection 2021.
Role of IL-6 inhibitor in treatment of COVID-19-related cytokine release syndrome


Peng Du ¹ , Jie Geng ² , Feng Wang ³ , Xiaobo Chen ⁴ , Zhiwei Huang ² , Yuliang Wang ⁵



Affiliations

• PMID: 33628091
• PMCID: PMC7893562
• DOI: 10.7150/ijms.53564

Abstract

Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) may be the key factor in the pathology of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). As a major driver in triggering CRS in patients with COVID-19, interleukin-6 (IL-6) appears to be a promising target for therapeutics. The results of inhibiting both trans- and classical- signaling with marketed IL-6 inhibitors (tocilizumab, siltuximab and sarilumab) in severe COVID-19 patients are effective based on several small studies and case reports thus far. In this review, we described the evidence of the IL-6 response in patients with COVID-19, clarified the pathogenesis of the role of IL-6-mediated CRS in severe COVID-19, and highlighted the rationale for the use of anti-IL-6 agents and key information regarding the potential features of these IL-6 inhibitors in COVID-19 patients.

Keywords: COVID-19; cytokine release syndrome; interleukin-6; interleukin-6 inhibitor..