Immunological vicious circle described for COVID-19
Freiburg scientists explain how antibodies and immune complexes against COVID-19 overstimulate the immune system and thus cause severe COVID-19 diseases / Publication in Nature Communications
A SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to inflammatory processes in the body. If these immune reactions are too strong, they can lead to tissue damage, organ failure and death. Scientists at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg have now shown how this overreaction occurs. They have shown that immune complexes play a central role in this process. The immune complexes are formed from the combination of the body's own molecules, which have triggered an immune response, and antibodies. The immune complexes that are formed activate immune cells excessively via specific surface receptors, causing the immune system to be stimulated in an uncontrolled manner. As the immune complexes appear in the blood, the inflammation spreads throughout the body. The results provide an explanation of how a strong antiviral immune response and dysregulation of the immune system are linked in severe COVID-19 disease.
The study, which was published in the renowned journal Nature Communications on September 26, 2022, thus opens up starting points for new treatment options aimed at preventing or eliminating the pathological immune complexes.
"Our study points to an immunopathological vicious circle. It is driven by the early formation of immune complexes in the blood of patients," says Prof. Dr. Hartmut Hengel, Medical Director of the Institute for Virology at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg. "Some people have a greater tendency to form such immune complexes. They are therefore likely to be more susceptible to a severe course of COVID-19," continues Hengel. He led the study together with Dr. Valeria Falcone, Head of the Laboratory for Virus Isolation at the Institute for Virology.
"We were able to identify soluble immune complexes as key players involved in the hyperactivation of the immune system. If we succeed in removing the immune complexes from the blood, this cycle could potentially be stopped," says Falcone. A similar activation pattern is already known from autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus.
Original title of the study: Circulating multimeric immune complexes contribute to immunopathology in COVID-19
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32867-z
Link to the study: www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-32867-z
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Prof. Dr. Hartmut Hengel
Medical Director
Institute for Virology
Medical Center - University of Freiburg
Phone: 0761 203 6534
hartmut.hengel@uniklinik-freiburg.de
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