T cells are a critical cell type in the maladaptive immune response to SARS-CoV-2, and the disease it causes, COVID-19. A thread on T cells, with emphasis on the “double-edged sword” of the adaptive immune response and implications for therapeutic repurposing in COVID-19. T cells, which include cytotoxic CD8+ T cells, helper CD4+ T cells and Tregs, are part of the adaptive immune response to infection. Genetic defects that lead to absence of T cells leads to primary immune deficiency and increased risk of infections.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T_cell

New study by @IdoAmitLab on scRNA-seq in mild (n=3) vs severe (n=6) COVID-19 patient, w/ computational disentangling of cells directly infected by SARS-CoV-2 vs those indirectly impacted.

sciencedirect.com/science/articl… SARS-CoV-2 mainly infects the epithelial and macrophage subsets in BAL, with indirect effects on naive CD4+ T cells, NK cells, neutrophils, monocytes/monocyte-derived macrophages.

Increasing evidence points to monocytes and macrophages as key players in the maladaptive immune response to SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes, COVID-19. A thread with emphasis on key mechanisms of mononuclear phagocytic (MNP) activation and potential therapies. What is the evidence that MNP cells, which includes monocytes and macrophages, are involved in COVID-19 pathogenesis? This review in @NatRevImmunol by @MiriamMerad and Jerome Martin from @IcahnMountSinai provides an excellent perspective.

nature.com/articles/s4157…

Another week and more data on the immune response to SARS-CoV2 and the disease it causes, COVID-19. This information is critical for therapeutic repurposing. A short thread on interferon and repurposing interferon therapies as “immune boosters” in COVID-19. Trials of repurposed drugs are expected to readout soon (e.g., anti-IL6R). For a short primer, read @Dereklowe ‘s blog, where he reminds us "don’t expect cures". As you will see, interferon therapies are being tested now.

blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archi…

The immune system is critical in the fight against SARS-CoV-2 infection. But what happens when the immune system turns against the body itself? Read this blog.thread to learn more, including repurposing anti-inflammatory drugs to prevent cytokine storm. plengegen.com/blog/repurposi… To start, there is a lot that is *not* known about how the immune system responds to SARS-CoV-2, and how the immune system evolves during the course of the disease, COVID-19. We know a little, however, which helps with drug repurposing.

Drug development is like lasagna: If you are really hungry now, take a lasagna out of the fridge; if you anticipate being hungry later, make a lasagna from scratch. A thread on drug repurposing for SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19, with emphasis on anti-inflammatories. It is useful to think of approved medicines available now to test in COVID-19 patients (lasagna in the fridge) vs those that need to be developed (lasagna from scratch). Here is a good overview on drug development in COVID-19 @kakape @sciencemagazine

science.sciencemag.org/content/367/64…

In this thread I provide information on inflammation and therapeutic interventions for SARS-CoV2 / COVID-19. The spirit of the thread is to encourage discussion on an important topic in light of numerous clinical interventions (see Figure below). Please read on... By now most know the general features of SARS-CoV2 infection and the disease it causes, COVID-19. If not, take a moment to read the Atlantic piece by @edyong209. It is very accessible and is a beautiful piece of writing.

theatlantic.com/science/archiv…

Here is a great talk from @XihongLin at the Broad Institute about the Wuhan outbreak. There are many important messages. @broadinstitute

The goals of the presentation: What can we learn for the Wuhan experience in controlling the COVID-19 outbreak? What worked and what did not work?

A complete description can be found in this medRxiv post.

medrxiv.org/content/10.110…