Potential role of IFN-α in COVID-19 patients and its underlying treatment options

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread rapidly worldwide. Given that this contagious viral outbreak is still unfolding, it is urgent to understand the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and explore effective treatments to protect patients from developing a severe illness related to COVID-19. Recently, IFN-alpha has been considered a potential therapeutic strategy to treat COVID-19 disease, mainly because the innate immune system rapidly produces IFN-alpha as the first line of defense to combat viral infections. However, IFN-alpha can also play a role in immunoregulatory effects, causing pathogenic damage and uncontrolled inflammatory responses. There are 13 human IFN-alpha subtypes that bind to the same receptor and induce different interferon-stimulated gene (ISG) expression, regulating various antiviral and immunoregulatory effects. The varying degrees of inflammatory regulations may raise concerns about the possible side effects to enlarge the inflammatory responses, exacerbating the severity of infection. Thus, the analysis of various IFN-alpha subtype induction during SARS-CoV-2 infection is necessary in exploring the mechanism of COVID-19 pathogenesis. This review summarizes the current understanding of IFN-alpha in the pathogenesis of respiratory virus diseases and IFN-alpha based clinical intervention used in SARS-CoV-2 infection and other respiratory virus diseases. Besides, new ideas in selecting suitable IFN-alpha subtypes or combinations as drug candidates for viral infection treatment will also be discussed.

Automated summary

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 is spreading rapidly worldwide, and IFN-alpha is considered a potential therapeutic strategy, although its immunoregulatory effects may cause pathological damage and uncontrollable inflammation responses.