A comprehensive review about immune responses and exhaustion during coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
Rebar N. Mohammed, Rozita Tamjidifar, Heshu Sulaiman Rahman, Ali Adili, Shadi Ghoreishizadeh, Hossein Saeedi, Lakshmi Thangavelu, Navid Shomali, Ramin Aslaminabad, Faroogh Marofi, Mina Tahavvori, Svetlana Danshina, Morteza Akbari, Gülinnaz Ercan
Abstract
Abstract Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a viral infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. The infection was reported in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019 and has become a major global concern due to severe respiratory infections and high transmission rates. Evidence suggests that the strong interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and patients' immune systems leads to various clinical symptoms of COVID-19. Although the adaptive immune responses are essential for eliminating SARS-CoV-2, the innate immune system may, in some cases, cause the infection to progress. The cytotoxic CD8 + T cells in adaptive immune responses demonstrated functional exhaustion through upregulation of exhaustion markers. In this regard, humoral immune responses play an essential role in combat SARS-CoV-2 because SARS-CoV-2 restricts antigen presentation through downregulation of MHC class I and II molecules that lead to the inhibition of T cell-mediated immune response responses. This review summarizes the exact pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 and the alteration of the immune response during SARS-CoV-2 infection. In addition, we’ve explained the exhaustion of the immune system during SARS-CoV-2 and the potential immunomodulation approach to overcome this phenomenon.