(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)
(THE CONVERSATION) Viruses that cause respiratory diseases like the flu and COVID-19 can lead to mild to severe symptoms within the first few weeks of infection. These symptoms typically resolve within a few more weeks, sometimes with the help of treatment if severe. However, some people go on to experience persistent symptoms that last several months to years. Why and how respiratory diseases can develop into chronic conditions like long COVID-19 are still unclear.
I am a doctoral student working in the Sun Lab at the University of Virginia. We study how the immune system sometimes goes awry after fighting off viral infections. We also develop ways to target the immune system to prevent further complications without weakening its ability to protect against future infections. Our recently published review of the research in this area found that it is becoming clearer that it might not be an active viral infection causing long COVID-19 and similar conditions, but an overactive immune system.
The lungs in health and disease
Keeping your immune system dormant when there isnt an active infection is essential for your lungs to be able to function optimally.
Your respiratory tract is in constant contact with your external environment, sampling around 5 to 8 liters (1.3 to 2 gallons) of air and the toxins and microorganisms in it every minute. Despite continuous exposure to potential pathogens and harmful substances, your body has evolved to keep the immune system dormant in the lungs. In fact, allergies and conditions such as asthma are byproducts of an overactive immune system. These excessive immune responses can cause your airways to constrict and make it difficult to breathe. Some severe cases may require treatment to suppress the immune system.
During an active infection, however, the immune system is absolutely essential. When viruses infect your respiratory tract, immune cells are recruited to your lungs to fight off the infection. Although these cells are crucial to eliminate the virus from your body, their activity often results in collateral damage to your lung tissue. After the virus is removed, your body dampens your immune system to give your lungs a chance to recover.
Over the past decade, researchers have identified a variety of specialized stem cells in the lungs that can help regenerate damaged tissue. These stem cells can turn into almost all the different types of cells in the lungs depending on the signals they receive from their surrounding environment. Recentstudieshave highlighted the prominent role the immune system plays in providing signals that facilitate lung recovery. But these signals can produce more than one effect. They can not only activate stem cells, but also perpetuate damaging inflammatory processes in the lung. Therefore, your body tightly regulates when, where and how strongly these signals are made in order to prevent further damage.
While the reasons are still unclear, some people are unable to turn off their immune system after infection and continue to produce tissue-damaging moleculeslong after the virus has been flushed out. This not only further damages the lungs, but also interferes with regeneration via the lungs resident stem cells. This phenomenon can result in chronic disease, as seen in several respiratory viral infections including COVID-19, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and the common cold.
The immune systems role in chronic disease
In our review, my colleagues and I found that many different types of immune cells are involved in the development of chronic disease after respiratory viral infections, including long COVID-19.
Scientists so far have identified one particular type of immune cells, killer T cells, as potential contributors to chronic disease. Also known as cytotoxic or CD8+ T cells, they specialize in killing infected cells either by interacting directly with them or by producing damaging molecules called cytokines.
Killer T cells are essential to curbing the virus from spreading in the body during an active infection. But their persistence in the lungs after the infection has resolved is linked to extended reduced respiratory function. Moreover, animal studies have shown that removing killer T cells from the lungs after infection may improve lung function and tissue repair.
Another type of immune cells called monocytes are also involved in fighting respiratory infections, serving among the first responders by producing virus- and tissue-damaging cytokines. Research has found that these cells also continue to accumulate in the lungs of long COVID-19 patients and promote a pro-inflammatory environment that can cause further damage.
Understanding the immunological mechanisms underlying long COVID-19 is the first step to addressing a quickly worsening public health problem. Identifying the subtle differences in how the same immune cells that protect you during an active infection can later become harmful could lead to earlier diagnosis of long COVID-19. Moreover, based on our findings, my team and I believe treatments that target the immune system could be an effective approach to manage long COVID-19 symptoms. We believe that this strategy may turn out to be useful not only for COVID-19, but also for other respiratory viral infections that lead to chronic disease as well.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/long-covid-19-and-other-chronic-respiratory-conditions-after-viral-infections-may-stem-from-an-overactive-immune-response-in-the-lungs-186970.
- Long COVID-19 May Stem From an Overactive Immune Response in the Lungs - SciTechDaily - October 13th, 2022
- DiPersio receives awards recognizing contributions to cancer care, research Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis - Washington... - July 27th, 2022
- With Supreme Court Failing California, Is It Time to Go on Our Own? - zocalopublicsquare.org - July 11th, 2022
- PARP Inhibitors Are Under Study as Treatment Options Beyond BRCA-Mutated Breast Cancer - OncLive - May 15th, 2022
- What it's like to compete in the science fair 'Olympics' - Science News for Students - May 15th, 2022
- Plug-and-play organ-on-a-chip can be customized to the patient - EurekAlert - May 2nd, 2022
- 'Where Does It Hurt?': Primary Care Tips for Common Ortho Problems - Medscape - May 2nd, 2022
- Pollution could be sucking the youth out of you, quite literally - ZME Science - June 23rd, 2021
- Habitable Earth an anomaly? Awardees of STEM grants study this and more | University of Hawaii System News - UH System Current News - June 6th, 2021
- Clint Smith's 'How The Word Is Passed' And Race History - NPR - June 6th, 2021
- Study: Israeli-made anti-COVID nasal spray reduced infection at mass gathering - The Times of Israel - February 23rd, 2021
- Novel Bone Marrow 'Ingredient' To Help Arthritic Horses The Horse - TheHorse.com - February 7th, 2021
- Anatomy of a vaccine: What it takes to create a safe, effective COVID shot - University of California - December 9th, 2020
- U.S. elections bring wins and losses for research community - Science Magazine - November 5th, 2020
- Viewpoint: Rightwing packing on Supreme Court means ERA more crucial than ever to protect Women's Rights - Blog - The Island Now - November 5th, 2020
- Talaris Therapeutics Announces Collaboration With Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates to Advance Preclinical Study of Tolerance Induction to Organs From... - September 18th, 2020
- Alleged unwanted hysterectomies and other abuses at ICE facility prompts investigation - USA TODAY - September 18th, 2020
- WVU assistant professor receives $3 million to study impacts of air pollution on lungs - The Daily Athenaeum - thedaonline - August 31st, 2020
- Landmark transplant in 1960s Virginia performed with heart stolen from a Black man - Live Science - August 12th, 2020
- Surrozen reloads with $50M for final dash to the clinic, shines some light on lead Wnt-modulating candidates - Endpoints News - June 20th, 2020
- Focused Ultrasound Opening Brain to Previously Impossible Treatments - University of Virginia - May 12th, 2020
- First-of-its-Kind Bio-Artificial Pancreas on Track for Type-I Diabetes Cure - Global Trade Magazine - February 8th, 2020
- Bent into shape: The rules of tree form - Knowable Magazine - February 4th, 2020
- Q&A: Cancer Death Rates Are Falling Nationally. Here's What's Happening at UVA - University of Virginia - January 11th, 2020
- Brown fat warms your body in cold weather | NOVA - NOVA Next - December 30th, 2019
- Oliver and Elizabeth Hedgepeth column: Human donations are a gift of life - Richmond.com - November 25th, 2019
- Dr. Christopher Good | Spinal Surgeon | Virginia Spine - May 13th, 2019
- Top 25 Most Haunted Places in Virginia - Colonial Ghosts - May 13th, 2019
- Stem Cell Therapy in Dallas, TX | National Stem Cell Centers - March 5th, 2019
- Stem Cell Injections Richmond, Virginia | Alternative to ... - February 24th, 2019
- Virginia Beach VA 23460 - National Stem Cell Therapy - February 22nd, 2019
- Stem Cell Richmond Virginia 23230 - January 5th, 2019
- Stem Cell Transplantation at Virginia Oncology Associates - November 23rd, 2018
- Stem Cells Lynchburg VA | Stem Cell Recovery SW Virginia - July 24th, 2018
- Stem Cell Therapy - Virginia Spine Institute - July 11th, 2018
- PRP & Stem Cell Treatment in Richmond VA - Dr. Bill Nordt ... - July 11th, 2018
- Stem Cell Therapy Hair Growth | McLean | Virginia Surgical ... - October 15th, 2017
- SpaceX Dragon Delivers Supplies (and Science) to Space Station - Space.com - August 19th, 2017
- John Theurer Cancer Center and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Announce 100 - Business Wire (press release) - August 5th, 2017
- Grant supports 3D innovation in stem cell-related cancer research at ODU - Southside Daily - August 5th, 2017
- Roanoke researchers pursue treatments for the type of deadly brain cancer affecting McCain - Richmond.com - August 5th, 2017
- Everything's a hustle in Orphan Black episode 5.5 - SYFY WIRE (blog) - July 9th, 2017
- Tests show no signs of cancer for Danville 2-year-old - GoDanRiver.com - July 6th, 2017
- U.Va. Smashes Barrier to Growing Organs from Stem Cells ... - November 23rd, 2016
- Stem Cell Therapy for Neck & Back Pain - DC Metro Area - November 23rd, 2016
- Home - StemCell ARTS - October 30th, 2016
- Stem Cell Transplantation - Virginia Cancer - October 30th, 2016
- Regenerative Medicine Research - Virginia-Maryland College ... - October 30th, 2016
- NASA awards UCI $9 million to study underlying mechanisms of 'space brain' - March 18th, 2015
- New ACL Preservation at G2 Orthopedics and Sports Medicine - February 20th, 2015
- Most cancers are just bad luck, others from bad genes, environment - January 20th, 2015
- The Week That Was: Bear Down - December 22nd, 2014
- Stem cells and cell adaptations to particular functions - December 19th, 2014
- Billionaire's New Science Institute Plans 'Google Maps' View Of Cells - December 9th, 2014
- Ridiculously tiny stomachs created for disease experiments - October 30th, 2014
- Misfolded Proteins Clump Together in a Surprising Place - October 16th, 2014
- Why Didn't They Win? 10 Huge Discoveries Without a Nobel Prize - October 9th, 2014
- Cell Stem Cell Protocol Review - Medicine School of ... - September 27th, 2014
- Stem Cells Symptoms, Causes, Treatment - Fetal stem cells ... - September 27th, 2014
- Williamsburg Stem Cell Therapy, Stem Cell Therapy ... - September 25th, 2014
- Virginia Beach Stem Cell Therapy, Stem Cell Therapy ... - September 25th, 2014
- Posts Tagged virginia - virginia StemCell Doctors - August 29th, 2014
- Virginia (Stem Cell) - what-when-how - August 22nd, 2014
- About Us - StemCell ARTS - Stem Cell Therapy and PRP for ... - August 22nd, 2014
- Virginia Stem Cell Treatments | Stem Cell Treatments - August 22nd, 2014
- Stem Cell Therapy Virginia | Stem Cell Treatments - August 22nd, 2014