Explained: In immune system responses, indicators of Covid severity risk

Even in the early course of treatment, researchers found indicators that predicted which patients were at greatest risk of developing severe forms of the illness.

“We were able to pull out signatures of disease risk,” senior author Akiko Iwasaki said in a statement released by Yale University.

As is already known, the immune system unleashes damaging “cytokine storm” in severe cases. Researchers said one risk factor was the presence of alpha interferon, a cytokine mobilised to combat viral pathogens such as the flu virus. However, Covid-19 patients with high levels of alpha interferon fared worse than those with low levels.

📣 Express Explained is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@ieexplained) and stay updated with the latest

Another early indicator of poor outcomes is activation of the inflammasome, a complex of proteins that detects pathogens and triggers an inflammatory response to infection. Inflammasome activation was linked to poor outcomes and death in several patients.

The researchers found that people who respond better to the infection tend to express high levels of growth factors — a type of cytokine that repairs tissue damage to the linings of blood vessels and lungs.

Taken together, the data can help predict patients at high risk of poor outcomes, the authors said.

&

(Source: Yale University)