Caspases and therapeutic potential of caspase inhibitors in moderate-severe SARS-CoV-2 infection and long COVID.

Background: COVID-19 can present with lymphopenia and extraordinary complex multiorgan pathologies that can trigger long-term sequela.

Aims: Given that inflammasome products, like caspase-1, play a role in the pathophysiology of a number of co-morbid conditions, we investigated caspases across the spectrum of COVID-19 disease.

Materials & Methods: We assessed transcriptional states of multiple caspases and using flow cytometry, the expression of active caspase-1 in blood cells from COVID-19 patients in acute and convalescent stages of disease.