Neopterin: A Promising Candidate Biomarker for Severe COVID-19

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has rapidly spread across the world since its first emergence in China in late 2019 It is a major public health concern with no effective treatct 3ments The immunopathology of SARS-CoV-2 is associated with an excessive inflammatory response Macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) is also associated with the severity of the disease in SARS-CoV-2-infected patients Neopterin is a macrophage activation marker produced by monocytes and macrophages upon activation by interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) Neopterin is a well-established marker in a variety of diseases, and recent evidence indicates that it could be helpful in early prediction of the severity of COVID-19 disease and serve as a prognostic marker Here, we outline the role of macrophage activation syndrome in the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 and suggest that neopterin could be used as a biomarker for progression of COVID-19