Cell: Severe COVID-19 is characterized by abnormal regulation of bone marrow cells.

!--Webeditor:title"--August 7, 2020//--- In a new study, from the Charit School of Medicine in Berlin, Germany, the University of Bonn, the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Researchers at research institutions such as the Helmholtz Infection Research Center (HZI) and the German Infection Research Center (DZIF) found that, contrary to popular belief, the severe course of COVID-19 not only leads to a strong immune response, but the immune response is in a continuous activation and suppression cycle.
study was published online August 5, 2020 in the journal Cell under the title "Severe COVID-19 is marked by a dysregulated myeloid cell compartment".
photo source NIIAD.
most patients infected with the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 show mild symptoms, not even symptoms.
however, 10 to 20 percent of patients develop pneumonia during the COVID-19 course, and some of them have life-threatening consequences.
"We still don't know much about the causes of these severe illnesses," said Joachim Schultze, a professor at the University of Bonn and head of the research team at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases.
high levels of inflammation measured in those affected actually indicate a strong immune response, " he said.
, however, clinical findings suggest that the immune response is not effective.
there is a contradiction.
Therefore, we assume that immune cells are produced in large numbers, but their function is flawed," explained co-author of the paper and professor of infectious immunology at the Department of Infectious Diseases and Respiratory Medicine at The Charit School of Medicine in Berlin.
, we analyzed the blood of patients with COVID-19 with varying severity. the
"high-precision methodology study was conducted within the framework of a national coalition--- the German COVID-19 OMICS Initiative ---, which means that the analysis and interpretation of the data are distributed across research teams and locations.
Schultze was actively involved in coordinating the research project.
blood samples from a total of 53 men and women with COVID-19 in Berlin and Bonn, Germany, were classified as mild or severe, according to the World Health Organization.
blood samples from patients with other viral respiratory infections as well as healthy people as an important control.
study involved single-celled histology techniques.
monocytosomic technology is the general term for modern laboratory methods that determine gene activity and protein count at the individual cell level and therefore has very high resolution.
using the data, the researchers described the properties of immune cells circulating in the blood -- --- white blood cells.
, co-author of the paper and professor Yang Li of the HZI Center for Individualized Infection Medicine, explained, "Applying bioinscer information methods to this very broad data set of gene activity in each cell allows us to fully understand the activity of white blood cells."
"Combining sequencing with the detection of important proteins on the surface of immune cells allows us to interpret changes in the immune system in patients with COVID-19," added Birgit Sawitzki, co-author of the paper and a professor at the Institute of Medical Immunology at The Charit School of Medicine in Berlin.
"immature" cell human immune system consists of a large number of cells and other interacting defense mechanisms.
the new study, the researchers focused on so-called myeloid cells, including neutral granulocytes and monocytes.
they are immune cells at the fore end of the immune response chain, meaning they are mobilized to fight infection at an early stage.
they also affect the formation of antibodies and other cells that help improve immunity later in life.
this makes bone marrow cells a key position. "Through so-called neutral granulocytes and monocytes, we found that these immune cells have been activated, i.e., in mild cases, they are prepared to protect patients against COVID-19," explained Antoine-Emmanuel Saliba, co-author of the
paper and head of the research team at the Helmholtz RNA Infection Institute.
they can also be programmed to activate the rest of the immune system.
eventually leads to an effective immune response to the virus.
but in severe cases of COVID-19, the situation is different, Sawitzki explains, "in this case, the neutral granulocytes and monocytes are only partially activated and they do not function properly."
found quite a few immature cells that have a considerable inhibitory effect on the immune response.
," Sander added, "this phenomenon can also be observed in other serious infections, although the cause is not yet known."
many indications that the immune system itself is in a disorder during the severe course of COVID-19.
may lead to an inadequate immune response to the coronavirus, as well as severe inflammation of lung tissue.
"a new treatment? "Our data suggest that strategies that should be considered in severe cases of COVID-19 should not be limited to other viral diseases," said lead author Anna Aschenbrenner of the Institute of Life and Medical Sciences at the University of Bonn.
," says Aschenbrenner, in the case of a viral infection, people don't really want to suppress the immune system.
"However, if, as our study shows, there are too many dysfunctional immune cells, then there is a strong desire to suppress or reprogram them," explained Jacob Nattermann of the University Hospital of Bonn, co-author of the paper.
drugs that act on the immune system may help.
but it's a delicate balancing act.
, it's not a matter of completely shutting down the immune system, it's just shutting down cells that can be said to be self-slowing.
in this case, these are immature cells.
that we can learn from cancer research, where we have experience developing therapies that target these cells.
" national team efforts, Schultze highlighted the collaboration within the research alliance, given the large number of participants.
as far as we know, this study is one of the most comprehensive studies to date of the immune response to COVID-19 based on single-cell data."
parallel analysis of two separate patient queues is one of the advantages of our study.
we used different methods to analyze patient queues from two different locations, so we were able to directly validate our findings.
only if research data is shared openly and cooperation is based on trust.
this is extremely important, especially in the current crisis situation.
(bioon.com) Reference: 1.Jonas Schulte-Schrepping et al. Severe COVID-19 is marked by a dyslinged myeloid cell. Cell, 2020, doi:10.1016/j.cell.2020.08.001.2.COVID-19: Immune system gone astray title.!--"