Advances in the study of cytokine storm mechanisms in pneumonia: An example of IL-6 and IL-33

In the past decades, pneumonia has been plaguing countries around the world, with great implications for medical and public health. Systems pose a serious challenge. Many pneumonia outbreaks have occurred in local areas and even in the world. Since the end of 2019, the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has once again attracted the world's attention to viral pneumonia. At present, a large number of basic research, drug development and clinical trials are being carried out for SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. However, patients are generally given symptomatic and supportive treatment, antiviral therapy, immunotherapy, glucocorticoid therapy and respiratory support. Therefore, finding new and effective treatment methods based on the pathogenic mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 is still the current practical demand and research focus. This review focuses on the occurrence and development of CS and the immunopathological damage caused by CS in viral pneumonia, especially in severe pneumonia, and summarizes the potential means of treating CS through IL-related pathways. Research found that different viruses cause CS, cytokines involved in the type and severity of differences, therefore, should also be targeted in the treatment strategy. In addition, in addition to focusing on the treatment of CS, in order to better study the pathophysiological mechanism of virus-induced CS and screen intervention drugs efficiently, how to safely and effectively establish cell and animal models of CS and improve the scientific evaluation system are also key issues worthy of attention.