Drug Discoveries & Therapeutics
Online ISSN : 1881-784X
Print ISSN : 1881-7831
ISSN-L : 1881-7831

This article has now been updated. Please use the final version.

Targeting lymphocyte Kv1.3-channels to suppress cytokine storm in severe COVID-19: Can it be a novel therapeutic strategy?
Itsuro Kazama
Author information
JOURNAL FREE ACCESS Advance online publication

Article ID: 2020.03046

Details
Abstract

In the midst of a pandemic, finding effective treatments for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the urgent issue. In "chronic inflammatory diseases", the overexpression of delayed rectifier K+-channels (Kv1.3) in leukocytes is responsible for the overactivation of cellular immunity and the subsequent cytokine storm. In our previous basic studies, drugs including chloroquine and azithromycin strongly suppressed the channel activity and pro-inflammatory cytokine production from lymphocytes. These findings suggest a novel pharmacological mechanism by which chloroquine, with or without azithromycin, is effective for severe cases of COVID-19, in which the overactivation of cellular immunity and the subsequent cytokine storm are responsible for the pathogenesis.

Content from these authors
© 2020 International Research and Cooperation Association for Bio & Socio-Sciences Advancement
feedback
Top