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Frontiers of Medicine

ISSN 2095-0217

ISSN 2095-0225(Online)

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Front. Med.    2021, Vol. 15 Issue (4) : 638-643    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11684-021-0831-z
LETTER TO FRONTIERS OF MEDICINE
Endothelial dysfunction in COVID-19 calls for immediate attention: the emerging roles of the endothelium in inflammation caused by SARS-CoV-2
Weijian Hang1, Chen Chen1, Xin A. Zhang2, Dao Wen Wang1()
1. Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, and Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetics and Molecular Mechanisms of Cardiological Disorders, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
2. Department of Physiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused numerous deaths around the world. A growing body of evidence points to the important role of overwhelming inflammatory responses in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and the effectiveness of anti-inflammation therapy against COVID-19 is emerging. In addition to affecting the lungs, COVID-19 can be a severe systemic inflammatory disease that is related to endothelial dysfunction. We are calling for closer attention to endothelial dysfunction in COVID-19 not only for fully revealing the pathogenic mechanism of COVID-19 but also for properly adjusting the strategy of clinical intervention.
Keywords COVID-19      endothelial dysfunction      inflammation reaction      cytokine storm     
Corresponding Author(s): Dao Wen Wang   
Just Accepted Date: 05 February 2021   Online First Date: 19 March 2021    Issue Date: 23 September 2021
 Cite this article:   
Weijian Hang,Chen Chen,Xin A. Zhang, et al. Endothelial dysfunction in COVID-19 calls for immediate attention: the emerging roles of the endothelium in inflammation caused by SARS-CoV-2[J]. Front. Med., 2021, 15(4): 638-643.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fmd/EN/10.1007/s11684-021-0831-z
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fmd/EN/Y2021/V15/I4/638
Fig.1  Possible mechanisms of endothelial dysfunction in SARS-CoV-2 infection. The endothelium is the barrier between vascular and parenchymal tissues under the condition of viremia (upper image). However, the virus can directly invade the endothelium and promote endothelial apoptosis or death, which leads to the disruption of endothelial integrity. The endothelium itself can also secrete cytokine/chemokine/gas molecules, as well as adhesion molecules, to attract lymphocytes (lower left). Angiogenesis may provide new pathways for further viral invasion, and lymphocytes can also infiltrate tissues through the endothelium to kill the virus inside (lower right).
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