Cytokine Storm in COVID-19: a severe immune situation

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS- CoV-2) is responsible for the greatest pandemic of the 21st century. Since December 2019 until now more than nine millions have been infected by the virus and almost five hundred thousand people lost their lives for Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Some mechanisms were associated to COVID-19 pathophysiology and specially in severe cases a specific dysregulation in the immune system could be identified, the cytokine storm. In that situation occurs a decrease in the anti-inflammatory and protective imune compounds and an increase in peripheral blood of pro-inflammatory, such as interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-6, IL-10 and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) that cause lung injury and worsens the patient's prognosis. So, this work aimed to review the role played by cytokine storm in SARS-CoV-2 infection, in order to to better understand the molecular events behind out-of-control cytokine response in severe COVID-19 patients.