Cellular and molecular features of COVID-19 associated ARDS: therapeutic relevance

Gaetano Scaramuzzo; Francesco Nucera; Alessio Asmundo; Roberto Messina; Matilde Mari; Federica Montanaro; Matt D Johansen; Francesco Monaco; Guido Fadda; Giovanni Tuccari; Nicole G Hansbro; Philip M Hansbro; Trevor T Hansel; Ian M Adcock; Antonio David; Paul Kirkham; Gaetano Caramori; Carlo Alberto Volta; Savino Spadaro

doi:10.1186/s12950-023-00333-2

Cellular and molecular features of COVID-19 associated ARDS: therapeutic relevance

J Inflamm (Lond). 2023 Mar 20;20(1):11. doi: 10.1186/s12950-023-00333-2.

Authors

Gaetano Scaramuzzo^#^{1

2}, Francesco Nucera^#³, Alessio Asmundo⁴, Roberto Messina⁵, Matilde Mari^{1

2}, Federica Montanaro^{1

2}, Matt D Johansen⁶, Francesco Monaco⁷, Guido Fadda⁸, Giovanni Tuccari⁸, Nicole G Hansbro⁶, Philip M Hansbro⁶, Trevor T Hansel⁹, Ian M Adcock¹⁰, Antonio David⁵, Paul Kirkham¹¹, Gaetano Caramori¹², Carlo Alberto Volta^{1

2}, Savino Spadaro^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Translational Medicine, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
² Department of Emergency, Section of Intensive Care and Anesthesia, Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria Sant'Anna, Ferrara, Italy.
³ Pneumologia, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Odontoiatriche e delle Immagini Morfologiche e Funzionali (BIOMORF), Università di Messina, Messina, Italy.
⁴ Medicina Legale, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Odontoiatriche e delle Immagini Morfologiche e Funzionali (BIOMORF), Università di Messina, Messina, Italy.
⁵ Intensive Care Unit, Dipartimento di Patologia Umana e dell'Età Evolutiva Gaetano Barresi, Università di Messina, Messina, Italy.
⁶ Centre for Inflammation, School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, Centenary Institute and University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁷ Chirurgia Toracica, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Odontoiatriche e delle Immagini Morfologiche e Funzionali (BIOMORF), Università di Messina, Messina, Italy.
⁸ Section of Pathological Anatomy, Department of Human Pathology of Adult and Developmental Age "Gaetano Barresi", University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
⁹ Medical Research Council and Asthma, UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma, London, UK.
¹⁰ Airway Disease Section, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK.
¹¹ Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Engineering, University of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, Wolverhampton, UK.
¹² Pneumologia, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Odontoiatriche e delle Immagini Morfologiche e Funzionali (BIOMORF), Università di Messina, Messina, Italy. gcaramori@unime.it.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection can be asymptomatic or cause a disease (COVID-19) characterized by different levels of severity. The main cause of severe COVID-19 and death is represented by acute (or acute on chronic) respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), often requiring hospital admission and ventilator support.The molecular pathogenesis of COVID-19-related ARDS (by now termed c-ARDS) is still poorly understood. In this review we will discuss the genetic susceptibility to COVID-19, the pathogenesis and the local and systemic biomarkers correlated with c-ARDS and the therapeutic options that target the cell signalling pathways of c-ARDS.

Keywords: ARDS; Biomarkers; COVID-19; Chemokines; Cytokines; SARS-CoV-2.

Publication types

Review