COVID-19 and inflammatory bowel disease: A pathophysiological assessment

Biomed Pharmacother. 2021 Mar:135:111233. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2021.111233. Epub 2021 Jan 5.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), caused by SARS-CoV-2, has led to the ongoing global pandemic. Although most patients experience no or only mild symptoms, some patients can develop severe illness, such as progressive pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and multiple organ failure caused by cytokine release syndrome. A majority of COVID-19 patients also develop gastrointestinal symptoms. These can present special challenges to the management of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) due to potential interactions between the immune response related to SARS-CoV-2 infection and dysregulated immunity associated with IBD. In this context, the pathogenesis of COVID-19 is reviewed in order to address these questions regarding immune interactions between COVID-19 and IBD.

Keywords: B(0)AT1; COVID-19; Cytokine release syndrome; Immune response; Inflammatory bowel disease; SARS-CoV-2; Therapy.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 / drug effects
  • Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 / immunology
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / pharmacology
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / therapeutic use
  • COVID-19 / epidemiology*
  • COVID-19 / immunology
  • COVID-19 / physiopathology*
  • COVID-19 Drug Treatment
  • Cytokine Release Syndrome / drug therapy
  • Cytokine Release Syndrome / epidemiology
  • Cytokine Release Syndrome / immunology
  • Cytokine Release Syndrome / physiopathology
  • Humans
  • Immunity / drug effects
  • Immunity / physiology*
  • Immunosuppressive Agents / pharmacology
  • Immunosuppressive Agents / therapeutic use
  • Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / drug therapy
  • Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / epidemiology*
  • Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / immunology
  • Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / physiopathology*
  • SARS-CoV-2 / drug effects
  • SARS-CoV-2 / immunology

Substances

  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents
  • Immunosuppressive Agents
  • ACE2 protein, human
  • Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2