On the contrary, there are studies which show decreased cytokine expression by T cells in severe COVID-19 cases. A study by Zheng H.Y. et al. (2020) showed a lower expression of IFN-γ, IL-2, and TNF-α in CD4+ T cells derived from severe cases. Similarly, a decrease in IL-2+ CD8+ and IFN-γ+ CD8+ cells was also observed (Diao et al., 2020). Although most studies point toward the robust activation and release of proinflammatory cytokines by CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, the discrepancy in latter studies could attribute to the functional exhaustion of these cells, which will we will discuss in section “Lymphocytopenia During COVID-19.”