BTK inhibition to prevent hyperinflammatory syndrome in COVID-19 patients

Project description About 5% of all COVID-19 patients become seriously ill and must be admitted to intensive care. This patient group often develops serious damage to organs and has a high risk of death. This is because certain cells of the immune system, especially the monocytes, overreact to the virus. This is also called a hyper-inflammatory syndrome. The protein Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) is involved, among other things, in monocyte activation and can be inhibited by the specific BTK inhibitor acalabrutinib. Other cells that are very important for killing the virus, such as T cells, are not affected by BTK inhibitors. Research and expected outcome This study will investigate whether acalabrutinib treatment indeed leads to clinical improvement in admitted COVID-19 patients. In addition, the effects of acalabrutinib on the various cells of the immune system are identified in order to gain knowledge about the mode of action of acalabrutinib in COVID-19 patients.