Immunologic aspects of characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Chang, Feng-Yee; Chen, Hsiang-Cheng; Chen, Pei-Jer; Ho, Mei-Shang; Hsieh, Shie-Liang; Lin, Jung-Chung; Liu, Fu-Tong; Sytwu, Huey-Kang

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the worldwide spread of the infectious disease COVID-19, caused by a new strain of coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, as a pandemic. Like in all other infectious diseases, the host immune system plays a key role in our defense against SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, viruses are able to evade the immune attack and proliferate and, in susceptible individuals, cause severe inflammatory response known as cytokine storm, particularly in the lungs. The advancement in our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the host immune responses promises to facilitate the development of approaches for prevention or treatment of diseases. Components of immune system, such as antibodies, can also be used to develop sensitive and specific diagnostic methods as well as novel therapeutic agents. In this review, we summarize our knowledge about how the host mounts immune responses to infection by SARS-CoV-2. We also describe the diagnostic methods being used for COVID-19 identification and summarize the current status of various therapeutic strategies, including vaccination, being considered for treatment of the disease.