A new mechanism discovered shows how SARS-CoV-2 induces the inflammatory response in COVID-19 patient lungs, so-called “cytokine storm”.
Cytokines - Part of Body's Defence System
Cytokines are chemical signaling molecules produced by immune cells of our body and help cells in the human body to communicate with each other. They are involved in inducing immune response and growth regulation.
Cytokines are chemical signaling molecules produced by immune cells of our body and help cells in the human body to communicate with each other. They are involved in inducing immune response and growth regulation.
‘This is surprising as interferons and pDCs have been demonstrated to protect patients infected by SARS-CoV-2 – but this new research uncovers that they can also provoke damaging cytokine storms.’
In a study published in Science Immunology, the investigators outline what controls the cytokine storm by lung-infiltrating macrophages, as these cells are not efficiently infected by SARS-CoV-2.
The COVID-19 Cytokine Storm
Researchers found that an immune cell type, called plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), are infected by SARS-CoV-2 and produce interferons that can provoke epigenetic changes in the nearby macrophages in the lungs of patients. Hence, this priming of macrophages by interferons leads to their exacerbated response to environmental stimuli, inducing the cytokine storm in the lungs of COVID-19 patients.“There is still a lot we don’t know about the pathogenesis of COVID-19, and why macrophages can produce these cytokine storms that can have such dramatic consequences for patients. We hope that this research will bring us closer to that understanding and will lead to better treatment options for patients with severe COVID-19,” said Dr. Barrat (Michael R. Bloomberg Chair, Hospital for Special Surgery; Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine).
This work was supported by a grant from the HSS Research Institute to study the role of pDCs in SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis as well as grants from the National Institute of Health, the Scleroderma Research Foundation, the Scleroderma Foundation, the Starr Cancer Consortium, the Irma Hirschl Trust Research Award and The Tow Foundation.
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Baricitinib shows promise against cytokine storm in COVID 19. Baricitinib along with an antiviral agent has shown good clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients.
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Study Sheds Light on Cytokine Storm Syndromes
The combination of dexamethasone and ruxolitinib is a good treatment for hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare immune disorder.
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