Abstract
After two previous episodes, in 2002 and 2012, when two highly pathogenic coronaviruses (SARS, MERS) with a zoonotic origin emerged in humans and caused fatal respiratory illness, we are today experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic produced by SARS-CoV-2. The main question of the year 2021 is if naturally- or artificially-acquired active immunity will be effective against the evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants. This review starts with the presentation of the two compartments of antiviral immunity—humoral and cellular, innate and adaptive—underlining how the involved cellular and molecular actors are intrinsically connected in the development of the immune response in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Then, the SARS-CoV-2 immunopathology, as well as the derived diagnosis and therapeutic approaches, will be discussed.
Highlights
This review aims to discuss the antiviral immune response in SARS-CoV-2 infection
The cellular effectors of the innate immune response (IR) are represented by various phagocytic cells, dendritic cells (DCs), and innate immune lymphoid cells, while the molecular effectors are represented by different antiviral molecules [31]
The main effectors of the specific humoral-mediated immunity (HMI) neutralize the free viral particles present in the human body and recognize the viral antigens exposed by the infected cells, activating the antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) or complement activation [31]
Summary
We are experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic produced by SARS-CoV-2 [2,3] The pattern of these infections enabled coronaviruses to be considered as emerging pathogens and a major public health concern for the twenty-first century [4,5,6]. SARS-CoV-2 has probably passed from animal intermediate to humans and spread with a high rate of infectivity in the unprotected population, reaching pandemic proportions in a very short time [17]. This sequence is the site of action of the furin-like enzyme that separates the two subunits of protein S, facilitating the fusion between virus and cell [20]. Cellular and humoral immune response, as well as the SARS-CoV-2 immunopathology, will be discussed
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