In a study that reshapes what we know about COVID-19 and its most perplexing symptoms, scientists have discovered that the blood coagulation protein fibrin causes the unusual clotting and inflammation that have become hallmarks of the disease, while also suppressing the body's ability to clear the virus.
Gladstone InstitutesAug 29 2024 In a study that reshapes what we know about COVID-19 and its most perplexing symptoms, scientists have discovered that the blood coagulation protein fibrin causes the unusual clotting and inflammation that have become hallmarks of the disease, while also suppressing the body's ability to clear the virus.
Knowing that fibrin is the instigator of inflammation and neurological symptoms, we can build a new path forward for treating the disease at the root. In our experiments in mice, neutralizing blood toxicity with fibrin antibody therapy can protect the brain and body after COVID infection." "We know of many other viruses that unleash a similar cytokine storm in response to infection, but without causing blood clotting activity as we see with COVID," says Warner Greene, MD, PhD, senior investigator and director emeritus at Gladstone, who co-led the study with Akassoglou.
In addition to discovering that fibrin sets off inflammation, the team made another important discovery: fibrin also suppresses the body's "natural killer," or NK, cells, which normally work to clear the virus from the body. Remarkably, when the scientists depleted fibrin in the mice, NK cells were able to clear the virus.
"Fibrin that leaks into the brain may be the culprit for COVID-19 and long COVID patients with neurologic symptoms, including brain fog and difficulty concentrating," Akassoglou says. "Inhibiting fibrin protects neurons from harmful inflammation after COVID-19 infection." Akassoglou's lab previously developed a drug, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody, that acts only on fibrin's inflammatory properties without adverse effects on blood coagulation and protects mice from multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease.
Brain Covid-19 Alzheimer's Disease Antibody Fibrosis Immune System Immunology Immunotherapy Inflammation Lungs Microglia Multiple Sclerosis Neurons Pandemic Protein Sclerosis Stroke Virology Virus
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