Perspectives on anti-IL-1 inhibitors as potential therapeutic interventions for severe COVID-19

The overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines, resulting in what has been described as a cytokine storm or cytokine release syndrome (CRS), may be the key factor in the pathology of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and is also a crucial cause of death from COVID-19. With the purpose of finding effective and lowtoxicity drugs to mitigate CRS, IL-1 blockade agents, which are one of the safest ways to stop this overwhelming innate immune response, are already available in several preliminary reports or are under observational trials and may offer an important treatment option in hyperinflammatory COVID-19. In this review, we described the key information in both case reports and clinical studies on the potential beneficial features of IL-1 inhibitors in COVID-19 patients.

Automated summary

The overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines, known as cytokine storm, is a key factor in severe COVID-19 pathology and a crucial cause of death. IL-1 blockade agents are being investigated as a potential treatment option to mitigate this overwhelming immune response, offering a safe and effective approach for hyperinflammatory COVID-19 patients.