Zhang Xiang-Ning, Wu Long-Ji, Kong Xia, Zheng Bi-Ying, Zhang Zhe, He Zhi-Wei
Department of Pathophysiology, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan 523808, Guangdong Province, China.
Department of Clinical Microbiology, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan 523808, Guangdong Province, China.
World J Clin Cases. 2021 Mar 6;9(7):1513-1523. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i7.1513.
An outbreak of a novel coronavirus was reported in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. It has spread rapidly through China and many other countries, causing a global pandemic. Since February 2020, over 28 countries/regions have reported confirmed cases. Individuals with the infection known as coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) have similar clinical features as severe acute respiratory syndrome first encountered 17 years ago, with fever, cough, and upper airway congestion, along with high production of proinflammatory cytokines (PICs), which form a cytokine storm. PICs induced by COVID-19 include interleukin (IL)-6, IL-17, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. The production of cytokines is regulated by activated nuclear factor-kB and involves downstream pathways such as Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators transcription. Protein expression is also regulated by post-translational modification of chromosomal markers. Lysine residues in the peptide tails stretching out from the core of histones bind the sequence upstream of the coding portion of genomic DNA. Covalent modification, particularly methylation, activates or represses gene transcription. PICs have been reported to be induced by histone modification and stimulate exudation of hyaluronic acid, which is implicated in the occurrence of COVID-19. These findings indicate the impact of the expression of PICs on the pathogenesis and therapeutic targeting of COVID-19.
2019年末，中国武汉报告了新型冠状病毒疫情。它迅速在中国和许多其他国家传播，引发了全球大流行。自2020年2月以来，已有超过28个国家/地区报告了确诊病例。感染新冠病毒病（COVID-19）的个体具有与17年前首次发现的严重急性呼吸综合征相似的临床特征，包括发热、咳嗽和上呼吸道充血，同时伴有促炎细胞因子（PICs）的大量产生，从而形成细胞因子风暴。由COVID-19诱导产生的PICs包括白细胞介素（IL）-6、IL-17和单核细胞趋化蛋白-1。细胞因子的产生受激活的核因子-κB调节，并涉及下游途径，如Janus激酶/信号转导子和转录激活子。蛋白质表达也受染色体标记的翻译后修饰调节。从组蛋白核心伸出的肽尾中的赖氨酸残基与基因组DNA编码部分上游的序列结合。共价修饰，特别是甲基化，可激活或抑制基因转录。据报道，PICs可由组蛋白修饰诱导产生，并刺激透明质酸渗出，这与COVID-19的发生有关。这些发现表明PICs的表达对COVID-19发病机制和治疗靶点的影响。
