Type I IFN deficiency: an immunological characteristic of severe COVID-19 patients

Abstract

Recently, a paper published in Science by Hadjadj et al. reported that type I interferon (IFN) deficiency, could be a hallmark of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Severe COVID-19 was also associated with a lymphocytopenia, persistent blood viral load, and an exacerbated inflammatory response (Fig. 1). These findings provide insights into the treatment of severe COVID-19 patients with type I IFN