Why is the coronavirus so dangerous?
Researchers at the University of Cologne have now discovered the treacherous influence on the human immune system.
Cologne - In the worst case, the innate immune system of humans becomes the biggest problem with a corona * infection.
Because the pathogen changes the immune cells.
Only the reaction in the body causes the infection to become severe.
The dangerous change will remain afterwards, writes the science journal
EMBO Molecular Medicine
.
That is the result of a study by the University of Cologne.
She examined the influence of the corona spike protein on the human body.
The researchers may have now gained groundbreaking insights.
They could lay the foundation for new treatments and better vaccines.
Doctors can already predict how severe the course of the disease will be for a patient.
Coronavirus: Severe course manifests itself with severe inflammation - immune system gets out of control
Severe Covid disease * results in severe inflammation of the lungs, kidneys and other organs.
This happens because the innate immune system overreacts.
When infected with corona, the immune system gets out of control.
The body produces masses of inflammatory signal substances (also cytokines).
Doctors call the dangerous phenomenon a cytokine storm.
Corona protein manipulates human defense cells - "Alteration of the DNA of macrophage precursors"
The spike protein of the coronavirus manipulates the human immune cells.
They are stimulated by the infection to produce the inflammatory signaling substance interleukin 1.
The infection causes a fundamental change in the human body.
The Cologne research team also examined immune cells from people who have never had contact with Sars-CoV-2: their immune cells did not release interleukin 1.
This change makes overreaction possible.
It triggers a chain reaction that attracts more and more activated immune cells into the tissue.
And the change remains.
The University of Cologne observed immune cells that could be activated strongly even weeks to months after a corona infection.
"Since macrophages (scavenger or immune cells, dR) have a very short lifespan of just a few days, this speaks in favor of changes in the DNA of macrophage precursor cells," explains postdoctoral researcher Sebastian Theobald, "we were able to make these so-called epigenetic changes through complex sequencing experiments prove. "
University of Cologne presents surprising corona findings: "Very unusual"
The results are as valuable as they are surprising. "This selective immune response of a classic signaling pathway of the innate immune system is very unusual and has not yet been described in this way," says Jan Rybnkier, head of the Cologne Infectious Diseases Research Laboratory Reaction of the immune system react. “
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