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FRIDAY, Sept. 25, 2020 (HealthDay News) – Children and adults have different immune system responses to novel coronavirus infection, which may help explain why severe COVID-19 is more common in adults , researchers report.
For their new study, they examined blood and cell samples from patients admitted with COVID-19 symptoms at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.
The researchers found that the younger the patient, the higher their levels of two immune system molecules, interleukin 17A (IL-17A) and interferon gamma (INF-g).
IL-17A helps trigger the immune system response during early infection, and INF-g fights virus replication. Higher levels of the two molecules may be associated with better outcomes in COVID-19 patients, according to the authors.
“To our surprise, we found that these particular serum cytokines were at higher levels in children than in adults,” study co-lead author Dr. Kevan Herold, professor of immunology and medicine, said in a Yale news release. intern at Yale University.
The researchers were also surprised to find that certain antibody responses that were considered protective were higher in adults, including those with severe COVID-19, than in children.
IL-17A and INF-g are part of the innate immune system, a more primitive nonspecific response that is activated shortly after infection. On the other hand, adults had a more vigorous adaptive immune system response, including higher levels of antibodies that attack the new coronavirus.
The findings suggest that “children have an earlier and more robust innate immune response to the virus, which may protect them from progressing to severe lung disease,” said study co-lead author Dr. Betsy Herold, professor of pediatrics and microbiology-immunology. at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine in New York City.
The study included children and adolescents with multisystemic inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), a rare complication of COVID-19 infection in young people that is associated with a variety of serious health complications.
Like other young people, those with MIS-C also have high levels of IL-17A and INF-g, and they rarely develop the severe lung damage seen in adults with severe COVID-19.
The findings suggest that boosting certain types of immune responses may benefit COVID-19 patients, the researchers said.
The study was recently published in the journal Translational Medicine Science.
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about COVID-19.
SOURCE: Yale University, press release, September 21, 2020
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