Determination of the key molecular mechanisms affecting the severity of new coronary pneumonia

Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, August 25 (intern reporter Zhang Jiaxin) According to the latest research published online on the 24th in the internationally renowned medical journal "Journal of Clinical Research", an enzyme that exists in severe inflammation-sPLA2-IIA may cause new coronary pneumonia The key mechanism of severity

Researchers from the University of Arizona in the United States, in collaboration with Stony Brook University and Wake Forest University School of Medicine, analyzed blood samples from two cohorts of patients with new coronary pneumonia and found that the circulation of the sPLA2-IIA enzyme may predict which critically ill patients will eventually die from the virus The most important factor

The research team used machine learning algorithms to analyze thousands of patient data points

In this study, the researchers determined the patterns of metabolites present in patients who died of new coronary pneumonia

Using the same machine learning method, the researchers developed a decision tree that predicts the mortality rate of new coronary pneumonia

It is understood that the level of this enzyme in many patients who died of new coronary pneumonia was found to be the highest level so far reported

Researchers claim that the sPLA2-IIA enzyme is a "pulverizer", which is common in severe inflammatory events such as bacterial sepsis, hemorrhagic and cardiogenic shock

"SPLA2-IIA has a similar genetic ancestor to an active enzyme in rattlesnake venom, just like venom flowing through the body, it has the ability to bind to receptors at the neuromuscular junction and may disable the function of these muscles

Chilton said that this enzyme is trying to kill the virus, but at a certain moment, it will circulate at a high level, causing the disease to develop in the opposite direction, because at this time it has the ability to "shred" the cell membranes of the patient's vital organs, thereby Lead to multiple organ failure and death

At present, the question researchers are investigating is whether this enzyme level is still relatively high and remains active, whether it will be part of the cause of the "long-term COVID-19" symptoms