Are superantigens the cause of cytokine storm and viral sepsis in severe COVID-19? Observations and hypothesis.

Valeria Scaglioni, Enrique R Soriano

Scandinavian journal of immunology 2020 Dec

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Right now the world is going through an unprecedented pandemic caused by a novel coronavirus. Recent papers pointed out the fatal outcome in most of the severe cases, in which a cytokine storm has been proven to be the cause of a systemic shock, acute respiratory syndrome, multiorgan failure and consequently death. Several explanations have been proposed trying to explain the pathophysiology of the cytokine storm, but viral proteins with a possible superantigen activity as a cause of immune dysregulation have not been addressed. If this hypothesis is proven, a different treatment approach might change the outcome in severe cases. © 2020 The Scandinavian Foundation for Immunology.

Citation

Valeria Scaglioni, Enrique R Soriano. Are superantigens the cause of cytokine storm and viral sepsis in severe COVID-19? Observations and hypothesis. Scandinavian journal of immunology. 2020 Dec;92(6):e12944