Prospective Roles of Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-α) in COVID-19: Prognosis, Therapeutic and Management

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) became a worldwide concern at the beginning of 2020 and has affected millions. Several previous studies revealed the impact of the imbalanced innate immune response on the progression of COVID-19 and its disease outcomes. High levels of proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukins are produced readily by innate immune cells to fight Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections. Nonetheless, cytokine-mediated inflammatory events are also linked to detrimental lung injury and respiratory failure, which can result in deaths among COVID-19 patients. TNF-α is amongst the early cytokines produced to mediate proinflammatory responses and enhance immune cell infiltration in response to SARS-CoV-2 infections. In COVID-19, TNF-α-mediated inflammation can cause detrimental tissue damage and gradually promotes lung fibrosis, which later results in pneumonia, pulmonary edema, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. This review, therefore, aims to deliberate the immunomodulatory roles of TNF-α in promoting inflammation and its relation with COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. In addition, this review also proposes the potential of TNF-α as a biomarker for the prognosis of severe COVID-19 and its related complications and as a molecular target for anti-TNF-α therapy.

Quantifying neutrophil extracellular trap release in a combined infection–inflammation NET-array device

“…This underpins the importance of immune-modulating anti-cytokine treatments in the clinic for patients with elevated levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in serum to serve better prognosis in inflammatory conditions like sepsis 31 and COVID-19. 32,33,59 Surprisingly, we found that NET release is unaffected when treated with LTB 4 , a significant lipid mediator of inflammation, previously shown to increase neutrophil recruitment and swarming in vivo . 7,60 However, the influence of LTB 4 on NET release, especially in the context of infection, has not been previously explored.…”

The role of inflammatory factors and T‐cell subsets in the diagnosis of recurrence in epithelial ovarian cancer patients and the effect of olaparin treatment on them

“…When the body is seriously injured, serum TNF‐α level will be significantly increased. At the same time, the high TNF‐α expression can inhibit the immune function and then increase the risk of further injury 27 . Studies have shown that the TNF‐α level is abnormally high in patients with ovarian cancer 22,28 .…”

“…At the same time, the high TNF‐α expression can inhibit the immune function and then increase the risk of further injury. 27 Studies have shown that the TNF‐α level is abnormally high in patients with ovarian cancer. 22 , 28 Here we found that recurrent patients have higher serum TNF‐α level than nonrecurrent patients.…”

CD147 rs8259T>A Variant Confers Susceptibility to COVID-19 Infection within the Mexican Population

“…In line with the information reported by Wu et al, we do not observe statistically significant differences in CD147 mRNA levels considering the genotypes of this variant in patients with psoriasis and stable angina [ 24 , 25 ]. Although we did not identify differences in TNF mRNA expression considering the three rs8259T>A genotypes, we know that TNF is a cytokine that mediates inflammation and can cause detrimental tissue damage, that it promotes lung fibrosis, which later results in pneumonia, pulmonary edema, and acute respiratory distress syndrome, that it promotes inflammation and that it is associated with morbidity and mortality in patients with COVID-19 [ 26 ].…”