The Role of Anti-inflammatory/Antioxidant Intervention in COVID-19

Dear Colleagues,

The single-stranded RNA SARS Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) can cause in humans a wide range of clinical situations from the asymptomatic to respiratory, hepatic, gastrointestinal and neurologic damages that in some cases can lead to a fatal outcome. The major complication of severe SARS Cov-2 infection is the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) presenting with dyspnoea, hypoxemia and respiratory failure. This severe clinical picture is likely contributed by an excessive production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (cytokine storm syndrome) accompanied by enhanced oxidative stress.  This latter appears to play a critical role in disease progression and its severity by mechanisms involving adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase (NOX) activation, reduction of nitric oxide bioavailability and release of free Fe3+ ions into the blood stream.  Ferric ions can mediate the Fenton and Haber–Weiss reactions, generating highly reactive hydroxyl (OH-) free radicals, altering DNA, protein and lipid structures and function. An appropriate way to combat lipid peroxidation, ferroptosis and mitochondrial damage caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection is to enforce a tight control of redox homeostasis, which might be achieved through the use of specific anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds taken systemically, mainly via the oral route.  The beneficial effects of selected compounds (food supplements or drugs) are expected to work through either directly, scavenging free radicals, or indirectly through the interaction with nuclear factors such as the kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NFkB) and/or the erythroid 2-related factor (Nrf2), transcription factors regulating the expression of a wide array of genes involved in inflammation and antioxidant defence. In this Special Issue we invite researchers to provide original research or review articles showing how nutrients or other different drugs or interventions (is there a role for the lung or the gut microbiota?) can help to control oxidative stress and inflammatory processes triggered by the SARS Cov-2 infection.  Preclinical and clinical studies, beside computational reports addressing specific receptorial targets are all welcome.

Potential topics include, without being limited to, the following:

• Natural extracts or drugs with anti-inflammatory/antioxidant properties.
• Formulation and delivery of anti-inflammatory/antioxidant compounds aimed at improving their stability and bioavailability in order to potentiate their anti-CoV-2 activity.
• Molecular dynamic/Computational studies to detect and explore the putative receptorial targets involved in the cascade of events controlling inflammation and oxidative stress.
• Virtual screening addressing specific macromolecular targets in order to identify new lead compounds, potentially able to induce symptom’s relief and to influence disease progression. 

Prof. Dr. Giovanna Mobbili
Prof. Dr. Roberta Galeazzi
Dr. Dario Rusciano
Guest Editors

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• SARS-CoV-2
• Antioxidants
• Oxidative stress
• Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)
• Reactive Nitrogen Species (NOS)
• Inflammation
• Nutritional supplements