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A large team of researchers with members affiliated with a number of institutions in France have identified what they believe to be a hallmark of critically ill patients with COVID-19. In his article published in the magazine. ScienceThe group describes their study of 50 patients with COVID-19 in France and what they learned from them.
The global pandemic has led medical scientists around the world to study the SARS-CoV-2 virus and associated infections. A feature of such infections is the difference in the degree of symptoms: some people are asymptomatic, while others are unable to breathe. The researchers hope that if the reason for the different reactions to the infection can be found, a means can soon be found to treat people with serious infections. In this new effort, the researchers studied 50 patients in French hospitals with variable symptoms, from those with a mild cough to those with respirators. Their goal was to find a common factor in patients with severe symptoms.
By analyzing patients’ blood, tissues, immune cells, and other samples, the researchers discovered what they believe is a signature for people with severe infections: a combination of an interferon response deficiency and exacerbated inflammation. They suggest that the signature may represent a hallmark for seriously ill patients with COVID-19. The researchers suggest that their findings could lead to therapies that increase the response of interferon to infection while reducing inflammation.
More specifically, the researchers found that critically ill patients had a deficiency in the response of type I interferons, a type of protein that the immune system uses to fight infection. Furthermore, there were higher than normal levels of proinflammatory signaling. Together, the two responses left patients low on ammunition to fight their infections. The work builds on studies by other researchers who find that interferon signaling in infected areas may play a role in mitigating disease progression. Such work has shown that the duration, timing, and location of exposure to the interferon virus are critical factors that appear to underlie the degree of success with current therapies.
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Jérôme Hadjadj et al., Impairment of interferon type I activity and inflammatory responses in severe patients with COVID-19, Science (2020). DOI: 10.1126 / science.abc6027
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Citation: Identification stamp of serious patients with identified COVID-19 (2020, July 15) retrieved on July 15, 2020 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-07-hallmark-severe-covid-patients.html
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