Suppressive effect: a new way to treat patients with severe coronavirus has been found

Russian scientists from NUST MISIS, Federal Research Center Crystallography and Photonics of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Sechenov University have proposed a new method of treating patients with coronavirus, which will help prevent the development of secondary tissue inflammation, which is extremely dangerous for COVID-19 patients.

This is reported in the journal Frontiers in Immunology.

The researchers suggested using drugs that suppress the activity of MAIT cells associated with mucous membranes.

In secondary infections in patients with coronavirus infection, these cells, found in the blood, liver and lungs, perform protective functions to search, recognize and destroy bacteria, fungi and other pathogens, but cause tissue inflammation.  

According to scientists, due to a malfunction of the immune system, one in seven seriously ill patients with coronavirus develop bacterial or fungal infections.

Such patients often require invasive mechanical ventilation of the lungs, which lasts an average of 9 days and can lead to hospital-acquired diseases.

In this case, MAIT cells cause additional tissue inflammation and lead to complications.

“In general, these cells are beneficial because they protect us from bacterial or fungal infections.

But in the case of an already developed viral infection and a high level of inflammation, the activity of MAIT cells can aggravate the course of the disease, "says Roman Akasov, one of the co-authors of the publication, an expert at the NUST MISIS laboratory of biomedical nanomaterials.

According to Roman Akasov, under the influence of coronavirus, the harmful activity of MAIT cells develops, causing the spread of secondary infections in patients with COVID-19.

A similar effect of these cells has already been seen in viral infections, including herpes, hepatitis and lethal flu, the scientist notes.

In recent studies, scientists have already noticed that these cells accumulate in the lungs, and the degree of their activation is correlated with the severity of the disease.

“Activation of MAIT cells is a prime example of how complex our immune system is and how it can make mistakes,” Akasov emphasized.

In their work, the authors note that the study of the interaction between the host (human) and its microbiota (the collection of microbes in the body) is of great importance for understanding the development of coronavirus and the treatment of this disease.

At the same time, they emphasize that the nature of this connection is not yet known, and the participation of MAIT cells in the development of COVID-19 requires additional study.