Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is a highly contagious viral infection, without any available targeted therapies. The high mortality rate of COVID-19 is speculated to be related to immune damage.
Methods: In this study, clinical bioinformatics analysis was conducted on transcriptome data of coronavirus infection.
Results: Bioinformatics analysis revealed that the complex immune injury induced by coronavirus infection provoked dysfunction of numerous immune-related molecules and signaling pathways, including immune cells and toll-like receptor cascades. Production of numerous cytokines through the Th17 signaling pathway led to elevation in plasma levels of cytokines (including IL6, NF-κB, and TNF-α) followed by concurrent inflammatory storm, which mediates the autoimmune response. Several novel medications seemed to display therapeutic effects on immune damage associated with coronavirus infection.
Conclusions: This study provided insights for further large-scale studies on the target therapy on reconciliation of immunological damage associated with COVID-19.
Keywords: Bioinformatics; COVID-19; Coronavirus; Drug prediction; Immune injury.
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