Endothelial dysfunction in COVID-19 calls for immediate attention: the emerging roles of the endothelium in inflammation caused by SARS-CoV-2

Weijian Hang; Chen Chen; Xin A Zhang; Dao Wen Wang

doi:10.1007/s11684-021-0831-z

Endothelial dysfunction in COVID-19 calls for immediate attention: the emerging roles of the endothelium in inflammation caused by SARS-CoV-2

Front Med. 2021 Aug;15(4):638-643. doi: 10.1007/s11684-021-0831-z. Epub 2021 Mar 21.

Authors

Weijian Hang¹, Chen Chen¹, Xin A Zhang², Dao Wen Wang³

Affiliations

¹ Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, and Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetics and Molecular Mechanisms of Cardiological Disorders, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
² Department of Physiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, 73104, USA.
³ Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, and Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetics and Molecular Mechanisms of Cardiological Disorders, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China. dwwang@tjh.tjmu.edu.cn.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused numerous deaths around the world. A growing body of evidence points to the important role of overwhelming inflammatory responses in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and the effectiveness of anti-inflammation therapy against COVID-19 is emerging. In addition to affecting the lungs, COVID-19 can be a severe systemic inflammatory disease that is related to endothelial dysfunction. We are calling for closer attention to endothelial dysfunction in COVID-19 not only for fully revealing the pathogenic mechanism of COVID-19 but also for properly adjusting the strategy of clinical intervention.

Keywords: COVID-19; cytokine storm; endothelial dysfunction; inflammation reaction.

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Endothelium
Humans
Inflammation
Pandemics
SARS-CoV-2*