Outlook of IL-6 signaling blockade for COVID-19 pneumonia

• Published in: Inflammation and Regeneration Vol. 40; no. 1; pp. 1 - 24
• Main Author: Hashizume, Misato
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BioMed Central 05.10.2020; BMC
• Subjects: Acute coronary syndromes; Arthritis; Clinical outcomes; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 pneumonia; Cytokine release syndrome; Cytokines; Disease; FDA approval; Fever; Immunosuppressive agents; Immunotherapy; Intensive care; Interleukin-6; Laboratories; Lymphocytes; Medical diagnosis; Metabolism; Monoclonal antibodies; Physiology; Pneumonia; Review; Sarilumab; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Siltuximab; Standard of care; Tocilizumab; Ventilators; United States > US; China
• ISSN: 1880-9693; 1880-8190
• DOI: 10.1186/s41232-020-00134-7

In this review article, it is highlighted the implications of pleiotropic functions of interleukin-6 (IL-6) for one of the therapeutic options targeting for COVID-19. Moreover, it is discussed how real-world data and trials with IL-6 signaling blockade will be crucial in informing the development of new treatment for COVID-19 pneumonia. Given physiological roles of IL-6 in inflammatory conditions and the data from real world, IL-6 signal inhibitors, along with standard of care (SOC) treatment, might provide efficacy, offering the potential to treat COVID-19 in hospitalized populations more effectively than current SOC alone. Therefore, on-going and planned randomized placebo-controlled studies in combination with SOC and other therapeutics to assess safety and efficacy of IL-6 signal inhibitors in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia will be warranted to address the high unmet need and burden of disease in this severely ill population.