A 2022 study suggesting that blocking a single molecule could protect against severe illness in COVID-19 has led to a $15 million federal grant supporting a comprehensive effort to learn more – with finding a solution to long COVID at the center of the new research.
Ohio State UniversityJul 23 2024
The new work funded by the NIH will extend the investigation beyond the lungs based on predictions that in response to the viral infection, caspase 11 has compounding effects in multiple cells: driving up inflammation in the body and brain, interfering with the immune response and leading to clots in small blood vessels. The team will also explore how SARS-CoV-2 infection shapes host and viral RNA modifications, which occur during gene activation and alter cell functions.
"Once you know the mechanism, then you can design what to target, where to target it and how to target it in order to reduce the damage being done," Amer said. "And this is especially needed for long COVID – it may be in the brain, it may be in the muscles, it may be in anything and everything – and that's an important aspect of the disease."
"In addition to studying mice, we'll also be using human cell samples that enable us to dissect mechanisms at the cellular level," she said. "Having access to human primary epithelial cells is a strength because those are the cells that the virus infects first." Related Stories"When you inhibit caspase 11, you get rid of many cytokines, which damage the lung tissue and the blood-brain barrier and brain tissue," Amer said. "Combining that together with stopping viral replication is going to be very effective at reducing deaths and severe illness from SARS-CoV-2 infection, and reducing the post-infection symptoms experienced by people with long COVID.
Bioinformatics Blood Blood Vessels Brain Covid-19 Cytokines Enzyme Gene Immune Response Immunity Infectious Diseases Inflammasome Inflammation Lungs Molecule Pathology Research RNA SARS SARS-Cov-2 Veterinary Virus
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