BTK inhibition as therapy for hyper-inflammatory syndrome in COVID-19 patients.

About 5% of all COVID-19 patients become seriously ill and require intensive care. This patient group often develops serious organ damage and has a high risk of death. This is because certain cells of the immune system, especially the monocytes, react too strongly to the virus. This is also called hyper-inflammatory syndrome. The protein Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) is involved, among other things, in monocyte activation and can be inhibited by the specific BTK inhibitor acalabrutinib. Other cells that are very important for killing the virus, such as T cells, are not affected by BTK inhibitors. Research and expected outcome This study will investigate whether treatment with acalabrutinib indeed leads to clinical improvement in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. In addition, the effects of acalabrutinib on the various cells of the immune system are identified in order to gain knowledge about the mechanism of action of acalabrutinib in COVID-19 patients.