Bioinformatics analysis of SARS-CoV-2 infection-associated immune injury and therapeutic prediction for COVID-19.

BACKGROUND

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is a highly contagious viral infection, without any available targeted therapies. The high mortality rate of COVID-19 is speculated to be related to immune damage.

METHODS

In this study, clinical bioinformatics analysis was conducted on transcriptome data of coronavirus infection.

RESULTS

Bioinformatics analysis revealed that the complex immune injury induced by coronavirus infection provoked dysfunction of numerous immune-related molecules and signaling pathways, including immune cells and toll-like receptor cascades. Production of numerous cytokines through the Th17 signaling pathway led to elevation in plasma levels of cytokines (including , , and -α) followed by concurrent inflammatory storm, which mediates the autoimmune response. Several novel medications seemed to display therapeutic effects on immune damage associated with coronavirus infection.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provided insights for further large-scale studies on the target therapy on reconciliation of immunological damage associated with COVID-19.