domingo, 27 de septiembre de 2020

Scientists Discover Genetic and Immunologic Underpinnings of Some Cases of Severe COVID-19 | NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Scientists Discover Genetic and Immunologic Underpinnings of Some Cases of Severe COVID-19 | NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

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Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020

Scientists Discover Genetic and Immunologic Underpinnings of Some Cases of Severe COVID-19

Scanning electron micrograph of a dying cell heavily infected with SARS-CoV-2
Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a dying cell (blue) heavily infected with SARS-CoV-2 (yellow), the virus that causes COVID-19. Credit: NIAID Integrated Research Facility, Fort Detrick, Maryland.

         New findings by NIAID scientists and their collaborators help explain why some people with COVID-19 develop severe disease. The findings also may provide the first molecular explanation for why more men than women die from COVID-19.

         The researchers found that more than 10% of people who develop severe COVID-19 have misguided antibodies―autoantibodies―that attack the immune system rather than the virus that causes the disease. Another 3.5% or more of people who develop severe COVID-19 carry a specific kind of genetic mutation that impacts immunity. Consequently, both groups lack effective immune responses that depend on type I interferon, a set of 17 proteins crucial for protecting cells and the body from viruses.

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