Del covid-19 al poscovid-19: lecciones y desafíos

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This disease is asymptomatic or mild in approximately 80% of cases, and severe or critical in the remaining 20%. COVID-19 was initially considered a pulmonary disease; however, it is now recognized as a multi-organ disease with a wide spectrum of manifestations. Some patients with acute SARS-CoV-2 infection develop a wide variety of persistent symptoms that do not resolve over months. This condition is known as post-COVID syndrome (PCS). The persistent inflammatory response, the dysregulation of the innate and adaptive immune response, the presence of latent and overt autoimmunity, and SARS-CoV-2 reservoirs in certain tissues may be responsible for the severity of acute infection and sequelae of SPC.

In this review, we present the interaction of SARS-CoV-2 with the immune system and the subsequent contribution of dysfunctional immune responses to disease progression. Finally, we highlight the implications of targeted therapeutic interventions to control viral infection and regulate the immune response.