{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,19]],"date-time":"2026-10-19T10:54:41Z","timestamp":1792407281304,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":84,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,17]],"date-time":"2021-03-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1615939200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Among patients suffering from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) syndrome, one of the worst possible scenarios is represented by the critical lung damage caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2)-induced cytokine storm, responsible for a potentially very dangerous hyperinflammatory condition. Within such a context, interleukin-6 (IL-6) plays a key pathogenic role, thus being a suitable therapeutic target. Indeed, the IL-6-receptor antagonist tocilizumab, already approved for treatment of refractory rheumatoid arthritis, is often used to treat patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms and lung involvement. Therefore, the aim of this review article is to focus on the rationale of tocilizumab utilization in the SARS-CoV-2-triggered cytokine storm, as well as to discuss current evidence and future perspectives, especially with regard to ongoing trials referring to the evaluation of tocilizumab\u2019s therapeutic effects in patients with life-threatening SARS-CoV-2 infection.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms22063059","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,17]],"date-time":"2021-03-17T11:48:22Z","timestamp":1615981702000},"page":"3059","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":50,"title":["Therapeutic Role of Tocilizumab in SARS-CoV-2-Induced Cytokine Storm: Rationale and Current Evidence"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"22","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4236-7367","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Corrado","family":"Pelaia","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, University \u201cMagna Graecia\u201d of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cecilia","family":"Calabrese","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Translational Medical Sciences, University of Campania \u201cLuigi Vanvitelli\u201d, 80131 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eugenio","family":"Garofalo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University \u201cMagna Graecia\u201d of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andrea","family":"Bruni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University \u201cMagna Graecia\u201d of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8265-3037","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessandro","family":"Vatrella","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, 84084 Salerno, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Girolamo","family":"Pelaia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, University \u201cMagna Graecia\u201d of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"497","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(20)30183-5","article-title":"Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China","volume":"395","author":"Huang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1753466620933508","DOI":"10.1177\/1753466620933508","article-title":"Lung under attack by COVID-19-induced cytokine storm: Pathogenic mechanisms and therapeutic implications","volume":"14","author":"Pelaia","year":"2020","journal-title":"Ther. 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