Coronavirus: how severe lung infections knock out a key immune defence
- Scientists say that a type of cell that kills harmful organisms can be paralysed, making patients more vulnerable to other diseases
- But there is a trigger for reviving the cells, raising implications for treatment, they say
Researchers from the University of Melbourne’s Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and the University Hospital of Nantes found that macrophages – a type of cell that kills harmful organisms in the body – were temporarily “paralysed” after severe infection, making the patients more vulnerable to new bacterial or viral diseases.
They analysed blood samples from patients with severe infections and found that the macrophages had been switched off.
In a study published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature Immunology on Monday, the researchers said they found these “immunological scars”in both mice and humans, according to a report by Agence France-Presse.
They also said they identified the trigger or “switch” for reanimating the macrophages and said it could restore them to their “full capacity”.
According to the report, the research could have implications for the treatment of Covid-19 cases, since many deaths from the disease occur due to a cytokine storm, where the immune system overreacts and attacks healthy cells.