(Fighting against New Coronary Pneumonia) Two Universities in Hong Kong Research Reveal New Coronary Virus-Induced Vascular Inflammation
China News Agency, Hong Kong, February 18 (Reporter Han Xingtong) The Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) announced on the 18th that the Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong (HKU Faculty of Medicine) collaborated to study the mechanism of new coronavirus-induced vascular inflammation .
The study found that the new coronavirus can activate a unique cellular receptor TLR4 without entering the cell, thereby inducing vascular inflammation.
It is reported that the scientific community generally recognizes that the new coronavirus binds to the ACE2 receptor on the surface of endothelial cells and induces an inflammatory response after entering human cells. Some drugs under development are also targeting this mechanism.
However, the latest research from two university medical schools found that most adult and fetal endothelial cells do not express ACE2 receptors, which means that ACE2 receptors are not the main cause of endothelial inflammation.
The team used stem cell culture to simulate new coronavirus infection, and used single-cell analysis technology to collect and analyze the genome of free endothelial cells from the blood of patients with mild and severe new coronary disease.
It was found that although the receptors that allow the virus to enter cells are generally considered harmful, ACE2 also has the function of protecting endothelial cells and preventing excessive inflammation after the human body is infected with the new coronavirus.
The team also found that the new coronavirus can induce vascular inflammation by activating the TLR4 receptor without entering the cell.
Lu Ailan, associate professor of the Department of Chemical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, CUHK, said that human stem cells can also be applied to other organ systems to simulate 2019-nCoV infection.
If "dermal fibroblasts" are collected from new crown patients to cultivate induced pluripotent stem cells, personalized treatment can be provided according to the patient's condition.
Pan Liewen, professor of science and branch director of the Public Health Laboratory of the School of Public Health of the University of Hong Kong, said that this study opens the door to further verification of whether such genes can be used as biomarkers to diagnose severe COVID-19 patients, especially those Serious cases with risk of thromboembolism (end)