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. 2022 Jul 14;40(6):559–568. doi: 10.1002/cbf.3725

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© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

This article is being made freely available through PubMed Central as part of the COVID-19 public health emergency response. It can be used for unrestricted research re-use and analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source, for the duration of the public health emergency.

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The most important factors involved in disarming of NK cells during coronavirus pathogenesis. The immune system function could dampen with accumulation of disarmed NK cells and cytokine storm in the airway microenvironment. Downregulation of activating receptor (NKG2C) along with upregulation of their inhibitory ones (NKG2A, CD39, KIR, PD‐1) is associated with exhausted phenotype of NK cells and severe lung damage. In addition, the accumulation of cytokines (cytokine storm) including TNF‐α, IL‐1, IL‐6, IL‐18, IL‐8, and IL‐10 may impede viral clearance. KIR, killer cell immunoglobulin like receptor; NK, Natural Killer.