Hypothesis
Version 2
This version is not peer-reviewed
Could Unconventional Immunomodulatory Agents Help Alleviate COVID-19 Symptoms and Severity?
Version 1
: Received: 1 April 2020 / Approved: 2 April 2020 / Online: 2 April 2020 (11:28:57 CEST)
Version 2 : Received: 27 April 2020 / Approved: 27 April 2020 / Online: 27 April 2020 (09:55:03 CEST)
Version 2 : Received: 27 April 2020 / Approved: 27 April 2020 / Online: 27 April 2020 (09:55:03 CEST)
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS coronavirus 2 or SARS-CoV-2) is the cause of the respiratory infection known as COVID-19. From an immunopathological standpoint, coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV-2 induce an increase in a variety of T-helper 1 (Th1) and inflammatory cytokines and chemokines including interleukins IL-1, IL-6, CCL2 protein and CXCL10 protein. In the absence of proven antiviral agents or an effective vaccine, substances with immunomodulatory activity may be able to inhibit inflammatory and Th1 cytokines and/or yield an anti-inflammatory and/or Th2 immune response to counteract COVID-19 symptoms and severity. This report briefly describes four unconventional but commercially accessible immunomodulatory agents that could be employed in clinical trials to evaluate their effectiveness at alleviating disease symptoms and severity: Low-dose oral interferon-alpha, microdose DNA, low-dose thimerosal and phytocannabinoids.
Keywords
COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2, Immunomodulators
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Virology
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Commenter: Stephen Mamber
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