The world has seen scores of studies with respect to coronavirus soon after the deadly pandemic stared to sweep the whole world. In one of the latest studies, a group of scientists say that the immune system is likely to malfunction in severe cases of Covid-19.
Researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the University of Bonn, the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) held the study. The journal Cell published the study.
The researchers note that immune response is caught in a continuous loop of activation and inhibition in severe cases of Coronavirus. Research group leader Professor at the University of Bonn Joachim Schultze said that the cause of these severe courses of the disease was yet to be known. The high inflammation levels measured in those affected actually indicate a strong immune response, the researcher said.
The researchers assume that though immune cells are produced in large quantities, their function is defective in cases of severe corona cases. The researchers analysed blood samples from 53 infected men and women. They analysed the samples using single-cell OMICs technologies. The study mainly focussed on myeloid cells, which include neutrophils and monocytes, a part of the body’s defence mechanism against diseases.
In severe coronavirus cases, they found neutrophils and monocytes were only partially activated. They also found the cells were not functioning properly. They also came across more immature cells that have a rather inhibitory effect on the immune response.
The researchers opined that the strategies in treating severe Covid-19 cases should go beyond the treatment of other viral diseases.
