Familial Mediterranean Fever and COVID-19: Friends or Foes?

Abstract

Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) and COVID-19 show a remarkable overlap of clinical symptoms and similar laboratory findings. Both are characterized by fever, abdominal/chest pain, elevation of C-reactive protein, and leukocytosis. In addition, colchicine and IL-1 inhibitors treatments that are effective in controlling inflammation in FMF patients have recently been proposed for off-label use in COVID-19 patients. Thus, FMF may resemble a milder recapitulation of the cytokine storm that is a hallmark of COVID-19 patients progressing to severe disease. We analyzed the sequence of the MEFV-encoded Pyrin protein - whose mutations cause FMF- in mammals, bats and pangolin. Intriguingly, although Pyrin is extremely conserved in species that are considered either a reservoir or intermediate hosts for SARS-CoV-2, some of the most common FMF-causing variants in humans are present as wildtype residues in these species. We propose that in humans, Pyrin may have evolved to fight highly pathogenic infections.

• Authors: Alessandro Stella, Mohamed Lamkanfi, Piero Portincasa
• Journal: Frontiers in immunology (Front Immunol) Vol. 11 Pg. 574593 ( 2020) ISSN: 1664-3224 [Electronic] Switzerland
• PMID: 33072117 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2020 Stella, Lamkanfi and Portincasa.

Chemical References

• MEFV protein, human
• Pyrin
• C-Reactive Protein
• Colchicine

Topics

• Animals
• Betacoronavirus (genetics, immunology)
• C-Reactive Protein (genetics, immunology)
• COVID-19
• Colchicine (therapeutic use)
• Coronavirus Infections (drug therapy, epidemiology, genetics, immunology)
• Familial Mediterranean Fever (drug therapy, epidemiology, genetics, immunology)
• Humans
• Mutation
• Pandemics
• Pneumonia, Viral (drug therapy, epidemiology, genetics, immunology)
• Pyrin (genetics, immunology)
• SARS-CoV-2