Autoantibodies against type I IFNs in patients with life-threatening COVID-19

Abstract

Interindividual clinical vari-ability is vast in humans infected withsevere acute respiratory syndrome corona-virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), ranging from silent in-fection to rapid death. Three risk factors forlife-threatening coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) pneumonia have been identified—being male, being elderly, or having othermedical conditions—but these risk factorscannot explain why critical disease remainsrelatively rare in any given epidemiologicalgroup. Given the rising toll of the COVID-19pandemic in terms of morbidity and mortality,understanding the causes and mechanisms oflife-threatening COVID-19 is crucial.