AUTHOR=Belladonna Maria Laura , Orabona Ciriana 

TITLE=Potential Benefits of Tryptophan Metabolism to the Efficacy of Tocilizumab in COVID-19

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2020.00959

DOI=10.3389/fphar.2020.00959

ISSN=1663-9812

ABSTRACT=<p>Tocilizumab has been proposed as a means of opposing hyperinflammatory responses in intensive care patients with COVID-19. Here, we briefly discuss the potentially multiple, synergistic mechanisms whereby tocilizumab might exert therapeutic activity, mostly focusing on the production of tryptophan-derived catabolites that would result from blockade of IL-6 signaling, as contextualized to the cytokine storm occurring in COVID-19 patients.</p>