Randy Cron, MD, PhD
Director, Division of Pediatric Rheumatology
Children’s Hospital of Alabama
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Frank van de Veerdonk, MD, PhD
Radboudumc Center of Infectious Diseases
The human immune system can be fickle—sometimes acting as a friend by warding off foreign pathogens that seek to do us harm, while at other times behaving more like a foe, overreacting and placing our health in jeopardy. The immune system’s response to various conditions, such as infection, cancer, or autoimmune disorders, are regulated through cytokine signaling. Typically, these signaling pathways are tightly controlled, but can often be sent into disarray wreaking havoc on localized tissue and organs, ultimately leading to acute conditions that have life-threatening consequences. Recognizing the underlying patterns for these hyper-inflammatory situations, as well as understanding the molecular mechanisms that drive them, are paramount to developing effective therapeutic interventions.
In this GEN webinar, we will learn about the cellular and systemic conditions that regulate the hyper-inflammatory condition known as cytokine storm syndrome (CSS). This disorder has seen renewed interest, as it has been associated with a number of SARS-CoV-2 infections, an area that will also be discussed. This will lead to our second presentation, which will discuss some of the unique pathology associated COVID-19 and how it correlates with CSS and innate immune responses.
