Immunology of COVID-19: Current State of the Science

Immunity. 2020 Jun 16;52(6):910-941. doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2020.05.002. Epub 2020 May 6.

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has affected millions of people worldwide, igniting an unprecedented effort from the scientific community to understand the biological underpinning of COVID19 pathophysiology. In this Review, we summarize the current state of knowledge of innate and adaptive immune responses elicited by SARS-CoV-2 infection and the immunological pathways that likely contribute to disease severity and death. We also discuss the rationale and clinical outcome of current therapeutic strategies as well as prospective clinical trials to prevent or treat SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Betacoronavirus / physiology*
  • COVID-19
  • Coronavirus Infections / diagnosis
  • Coronavirus Infections / immunology*
  • Coronavirus Infections / pathology
  • Coronavirus Infections / therapy
  • Disease Susceptibility
  • Humans
  • Immunity, Innate
  • Immunologic Memory
  • Inflammation / immunology
  • Inflammation / virology
  • Lymphocytes / immunology
  • Myeloid Cells / immunology
  • Pandemics
  • Pneumonia, Viral / diagnosis
  • Pneumonia, Viral / immunology*
  • Pneumonia, Viral / pathology
  • Pneumonia, Viral / therapy
  • SARS-CoV-2