About one-tenth of all people who suffer from Covid-19, developed severe pneumonia. While the Virus is, scientists still before the countless puzzles, it managed a German-Chinese team of researchers is now, a characteristic in the blood of patients to prove that can tell a severe course of the disease before. They published their results in The journal “The Lancet”.
The scientists Ulf Dittmer from the Institute for Virology at the University hospital of Duisburg-Essen examined the temporal course and immunological parameters of 40 Covid-19-patients in Wuhan. They found that people who have the beginning of an infection with Sars-CoV-2 is a low T-cell Population, have a high risk for a severe course of Covid-19.
T-cells are part of the immune system. A pathogen attacks the human body is the immune system, by activating the circulating in the blood T-cells and specifically to these pathogens it has been programmed.
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Low T cell Population can be various reasons for
have a person has too few T-cells, may be related, for example, with the intake of immunosuppressive drugs together. Also, pre-existing conditions and the age of the patient play a role, as Ulf Dittmer explained in an interview with FOCUS Online.
“We have found that people who have at the beginning of the Sars-CoV-2 infection few cells of a certain type of white blood cells, have a high risk for a severe course of the disease. This so-called CD8-positive T-cells play a major role in this. These cells of the immune system can recognize Virus-infected body cells and kill them. Thus, you prevent the multiplication of the virus.“ Ulf Dittmer, a Professor of Virology
Ulf Dittmer, the Director of the Institute for Virology at the University of is food hospital. His main focus is on the study of chronic viral infections and the interaction of the immune system with a virus. He has a doctorate in Göttingen, and at the National Institute of Health in the United States worked. Since 2011, he is Director of the Institute in Essen, and since 2016 is a guest Professor at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan.
another factor that could account for the researchers, the ratio of the CD8-cells and neutrophils. While CD8 cells Virus-killing infected cells, neutrophils, actually, to the defense of bacteria there. “You can, but also are very strong regulating effect on other cells of the immune system. If too many neutrophils are present in the blood, suppress often the function of T cells,“ explains the Professor of Virology, the results of the study. “It is therefore likely that an increased number of neutrophils in Covid-19-patients to the decrease of T could contribute cells.” More to the Coronavirus
Doctors can say on the basis of the results of heavy Covid-19-gradients before and early
act the results of The study could help Doctors can find out if there is a serious Covid-19-threatens history, even before it announces itself physically: “the measurement of these cells can predict which Patient has a high risk for a severe course of the disease. These patients must be carefully monitored and possibly treated earlier, for example with oxygen,“ explains Dittmer. U. Dittmer et al. Number of white blood cells, lymphocytes, neutrophils and monocytes in patients with mild (blue) and heavy (red) course.
The results of the study could be contribute to that, to protect vulnerable people in advance: “therapies, the T-damage the cells, for example, with immunosuppressants, or chemotherapy, or interrupted could be adjusted. Also therapies for the activation of T-cells by immune-stimulating drugs or vitamins are conceivable.“
In the next step should be, taking into account the results of the study, the determination of the CD8 T-cell Numbers and neutrophils for the early diagnosis of the disease process used and patients that take drugs, the T-cells weaken, may be re-set. In the end, the findings of the German and Chinese scientists for the development of a vaccine against Sars-CoV-2 are important: “It will be important to induce with a vaccine against Sars-CoV-2 not only antibodies, but also T-cells, to be able to a protection.” All the important messages to the Coronavirus in the FOCUS Online Newsletter. Subscribe now.
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