Fatal cytokine release syndrome by an aberrant FLIP/STAT3 axis

Inflammatory responses rapidly detect pathogen invasion and mount a regulated reaction. However, dysregulated anti-pathogen immune responses can provoke life-threatening inflammatory pathologies collectively known as cytokine release syndrome (CRS), exemplified by key clinical phenotypes unearthed during the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic. The underlying pathophysiology of CRS remains elusive. We found that FLIP, a protein that controls caspase-8 death pathways, was highly expressed in myeloid cells of COVID-19 lungs. FLIP controlled CRS by fueling a STAT3-dependent inflammatory program. Indeed, constitutive expression of a viral FLIP homologue in myeloid cells triggered a STAT3-linked, progressive and fatal inflammatory syndrome in mice, characterized by elevated cytokine output, lymphopenia, lung injury and multiple organ dysfunctions that mimicked human CRS. As STAT3-targeting approaches relieved inflammation, immune disorders, and organ failures in these mice, targeted intervention towards this pathway could suppress the lethal CRS inflammatory state.One sentence summaryFLIP-expressing myeloid cells are key drivers of CRS through aberrant overexpression of STAT3 pathway. STAT3-targeting is effective in mitigating CRS like severe COVID-19.