In early April 2021, Purdue University scientists discovered an unusual response in SARS-CoV-2-infected lung cells that may be responsible for such difficult treatment, severe illness, and lengthy recovery process. This discovery helped to find a solution, or rather, to choose the right drugs to suppress the virus. The thing is that in the last few years, scientists have been able to find out that the complementary immune system, a protein system produced in the liver, helps antibodies fight pathogens not only in the blood, but also inside cells. The most surprising was the fact that such a response is not triggered in the liver, as previously thought, but in the structural units of the lungs, which are called alveoli. Accordingly, in the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the alveoli, this system is activated, but in an absolutely unpredictable way.
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This fact may explain why Ruxolitinib, an inhibitor targeting the complementary system, did not show the desired result, because it did not penetrate into the cells, but only worked outside them throughout the circulatory system. Therefore, in the fight against the disease, the same active substance should be used only penetrating into the cells.
There is also speculation that Ruxolitinb should be paired with the already well-established COVID-19 Remdesivir. However, this combination needs more medical research.
At the same time, this discovery also raises a number of questions, in particular, by provoking the activation of the complementary system, whether the virus uses this for its own benefit, for example, to infect other alveoli or replicate itself.
- Sources of
- Purdue.edu. – COVID-19 causes ‘unexpected’ cellular response in the lungs, research finds.