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World J Clin Cases. Jun 26, 2021; 9(18): 4480-4490
Published online Jun 26, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i18.4480
Dynamics of host immune responses to SARS-CoV-2
Reza Taherkhani, Sakineh Taherkhani, Fatemeh Farshadpour
Reza Taherkhani, Fatemeh Farshadpour, Department of Virology, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr 7514633341, Iran
Reza Taherkhani, Fatemeh Farshadpour, Persian Gulf Tropical Medicine Research Center, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr 7514633341, Iran
Sakineh Taherkhani, School of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak 3848176589, Iran
Author contributions: Farshadpour F and Taherkhani R designed the study and drafted the manuscript; Taherkhani S performed the literature review and edited the manuscript; All authors approved the final draft of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declared that they do not have anything to disclose regarding funding or conflict of interest with respect to this manuscript.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Fatemeh Farshadpour, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Virology, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Moallem Street, Bushehr 7514633341, Iran. f.farshadpour@bpums.ac.ir
Received: January 8, 2021
Peer-review started: January 8, 2021
First decision: March 27, 2021
Revised: April 7, 2021
Accepted: April 23, 2021
Article in press: April 23, 2021
Published online: June 26, 2021
Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the most recent global health threat, is spreading throughout the world with worrisome speed, and the current wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) seems to have no mercy. While this mysterious virus challenges our ability to control viral infections, our opportunities to control the COVID-19 pandemic are gradually fading. Currently, pandemic management relies on preventive interventions. Although prevention is a good strategy to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 transmission, it still cannot be considered an absolute solution to eliminate this pandemic. Currently, developing a potent immunity against this viral infection seems to be the most promising strategy to drive down this ongoing global tragedy. However, with the emergence of new challenges in the context of immune responses to COVID-19, the road to control this devastating pandemic seems bumpier; thus, it is pivotal to characterize the dynamics of host immune responses to COVID-19, in order to develop efficient prophylactic and therapeutic tools. This begs the question of whether the effector mechanisms of the immune system are indeed potent or a possible contributing factor to developing more severe and lethal forms of COVID-19. In this review, the possible role of the immunopathologic phenomena including antibody-dependent enhancement, cytokine storm, and original antigenic sin in severity and mortality of COVID-19 will be discussed.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, Immune response, Antibody-dependent enhancement, Cytokine storm, Original antigenic sin

Core Tip: This study provides an overview on the possible role of immunopathologic phenomena including antibody-dependent enhancement, cytokine storm, and original antigenic sin in severity and mortality of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). With the emergence of new challenges in the context of immunity to COVID-19, it is pivotal to characterize the dynamics of host immune responses to COVID-19, in order to develop efficient prophylactic and therapeutic tools. This begs the question of whether the effector mechanisms of the immune system are indeed potent or a possible contributing factor to developing more severe forms of COVID-19.