REVIEW: Immunology of SARS-CoV-2 Infection

---

Aida G. Gabdoulkhakova^1,2,a*, Rimma N. Mingaleeva¹, Albina M. Romozanova¹, Aisylu R. Sagdeeva¹, Yulia V. Filina¹, Albert A. Rizvanov^1,3, and Regina R. Miftakhova¹

¹Kazan Federal University, 420008 Kazan, Russia

²Kazan State Medical Academy – Branch Campus of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Further Professional Education “Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 420012 Kazan, Russia

³Division of Medical and Biological Sciences, Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, 420111 Kazan, Russia

Received September 14, 2023; Revised November 17, 2023; Accepted November 18, 2023

---

According to the data from the World Health Organization, about 800 million of the world population had contracted coronavirus infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 by mid-2023. Properties of this virus have allowed it to circulate in the human population for a long time, evolving defense mechanisms against the host immune system. Severity of the disease depends largely on the degree of activation of the systemic immune response, including overstimulation of macrophages and monocytes, cytokine production, and triggering of adaptive T- and B-cell responses, while SARS-CoV-2 evades the immune system actions. In this review, we discuss immune responses triggered in response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus entry into the cell and malfunctions of the immune system that lead to the development of severe disease.

---

KEY WORDS: innate and adaptive immunity, SARS-CoV-2, spike protein, ACE2 receptor, proteases, membrane fusion, polymorphism

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297924010048

---