ReviewJournal of leukocyte biology2020
Cytokine storm and leukocyte changes in mild versus severe SARS-CoV-2 infection: Review of 3939 COVID-19 patients in China and emerging pathogenesis and therapy concepts.
Review in Journal of leukocyte biology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 451 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
451 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 779 citations in OpenAlex.
- SARS-CoV-2 pathophysiology and post-vaccination severity: a systematic review.Immunologic research · 2024Pooled it
- Increasing Face Mask Wearing in Autistic Individuals Using Behavior Analytic Interventions: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2024Pooled it
- Levels of circulating kidney injury markers and IL-10 identify non-critically ill patients with COVID-19 at risk of death.JCI insight · 2026Trial
- A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of the BTK inhibitor zanubrutinib in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 respiratory distress: immune biomarker and clinical findings.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Trial
- An Inhaled Galectin-3 Inhibitor in COVID-19 Pneumonitis: A Phase Ib/IIa Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial (DEFINE).American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Metabolic control of macrophages in coronavirus disease 2019.Virulence · 2026Review
- Absent pleocytosis in infant viral central nervous system infections reflects lymphocyte depletion and cytokine activation.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Functional Profile of γδ T Cells in Severe and Moderate COVID-19: A Brazilian Cross-Sectional Study.Cells · 2026Article
- Immune cell disorder in viral pneumonia.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Review
- Post-COVID-19 Euthyroid Thyroid Eye Disease in a Young Woman: A Case Report of Optic Nerve Threat and Steroid-Responsive Course.Korean journal of ophthalmology : KJO · 2026Article
- Review
- Genome-wide DNA methylation profiling in COVID-19 positive patients reveals alterations in pathways linked to neurological dysfunction.Clinical epigenetics · 2026Article
- Development and validation of a cytokine-driven predictive model for COVID-19 severity.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Phytochemicals as potential inhibitors of NETosis: implications for immunothrombosis and chronic disease management.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2026Article
- Immunogenetic modulation of endothelial inflammation by the LIPG -384A/C promoter variant influences COVID-19 severity.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Magnitude of SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Production and Its Relationship with Autoantibody Formation.Infectious diseases & clinical microbiology · 2025Article
- A comparative study on proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-17A and interleukin-17F expressions in whole blood of patients with COVID-19.Iranian journal of microbiology · 2025Article
- Gut bacteriophages induce specific-reprogramming of macrophages to generate a protective innate immunity response to lipopolysaccharide exposure.Gut microbes · 2025Article
- The impact of vaccine booster doses on specific B- and T-lymphocyte dynamics in Thai healthcare personnel following COVID-19 vaccination.Scientific reports · 2025Article
391 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Clinical evidence indicates that the fatal outcome observed with severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 infection often results from alveolar injury that impedes airway capacity and multi-organ failure-both of which are associated with the hyperproduction of cytokines, also known as a cytokine storm or cytokine release syndrome. Clinical reports show that both mild and severe forms of disease result in changes in circulating leukocyte subsets and cytokine secretion, particularly IL-6, IL-1β, IL-10, TNF, GM-CSF, IP-10 (IFN-induced protein 10), IL-17, MCP-3, and IL-1ra. Not surprising, therapies that target the immune response and curtail the cytokine storm in coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) patients have become a focus of recent clinical trials. Here we review reports on leukocyte and cytokine data associated with COVID-19 disease in 3939 patients in China and describe emerging data on immunopathology. With an emphasis on immune modulation, we also look at ongoing clinical studies aimed at blocking proinflammatory cytokines; transfer of immunosuppressive mesenchymal stem cells; use of convalescent plasma transfusion; as well as immunoregulatory therapy and traditional Chinese medicine regimes. In examining leukocyte and cytokine activity in COVID-19, we focus in particular on how these levels are altered as the disease progresses (neutrophil NETosis, macrophage, T cell response, etc.) and proposed consequences to organ pathology (coagulopathy, etc.). Viral and host interactions are described to gain further insight into leukocyte biology and how dysregulated cytokine responses lead to disease and/or organ damage. By better understanding the mechanisms that drive the intensity of a cytokine storm, we can tailor treatment strategies at specific disease stages and improve our response to this worldwide public health threat.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.