AUTHOR=Vomero Marta , Barbati Cristiana , Colasanti Tania , Celia Alessandra Ida , Speziali Mariangela , Ucci Federica Maria , Ciancarella Claudia , Conti Fabrizio , Alessandri Cristiano TITLE=Autophagy Modulation in Lymphocytes From COVID-19 Patients: New Therapeutic Target in SARS-COV-2 Infection JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology VOLUME=11 YEAR=2020 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2020.569849 DOI=10.3389/fphar.2020.569849 ISSN=1663-9812 ABSTRACT=

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the novel coronavirus, causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). During virus infection, several pro-inflammatory cytokines are produced, leading to the “cytokine storm.” Among these, interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), and IL-1β seem to have a central role in the progression and exacerbation of the disease, leading to the recruitment of immune cells to infection sites. Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved lysosomal degradation pathway involved in different aspects of lymphocytes functionality. The involvement of IL-6, TNF‐α, and IL-1β in autophagy modulation has recently been demonstrated. Moreover, preliminary studies showed that SARS-CoV-2 could infect lymphocytes, playing a role in the modulation of autophagy. Several anti-rheumatic drugs, now proposed for the treatment of COVID-19, could modulate autophagy in lymphocytes, highlighting the therapeutic potential of targeting autophagy in SARS-CoV-2 infection.