Clinical, biochemical, and genetic study of TACE/TNF-α/ACE signaling pathway in pediatric COVID-19 infection.

Background: Pediatric patients infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have unique clinical characteristics. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a proinflammatory cytokine that greatly contributes to tumor pathogenesis.

Purpose: To describe the presenting characteristics of COVID-19 infection among pediatric patients, and investigate the possible role of the TNF-α signaling pathway.