In vitro induction of interleukin-8 by SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein is inhibited in bronchial epithelial IB3-1 cells by a miR-93-5p agomiR.

One of the major clinical features of COVID-19 is a hyperinflammatory state, which is characterized by high expression of cytokines (such as IL-6 and TNF-α), chemokines (such as IL-8) and growth factors and is associated with severe forms of COVID-19. For this reason, the control of the "cytokine storm" represents a key issue in the management of COVID-19 patients. In this study we report evidence that the release of key proteins of the COVID-19 "cytokine storm" can be inhibited by mimicking the biological activity of microRNAs. The major focus of this report is on IL-8, whose expression can be modified by the employment of a molecule mimicking miR-93-5p, which is able to target the IL-8 RNA transcript and modulate its activity. The results obtained demonstrate that the production of IL-8 protein is enhanced in bronchial epithelial IB3-1 cells by treatment with the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein and that IL-8 synthesis and extracellular release can be strongly reduced using an agomiR molecule mimicking miR-93-5p.