Covid virus attacks ‘master cells’ of immune system, say Chinese scientists
Chinese researchers have discovered that the Covid-19 virus attacks the “master cells” of the immune system, causing immunodeficiency that can lead to organ failure and death.
The Chinese study, which was published in the peer-reviewed “Nature” journal last week, showed that SARS-CoV-2 can enter immune cells called CD4 T directly.
Previously, it was believed that the virus could only enter various cells via receptors such as ACE2 or TMPRSS2.
However, the study found that the virus could enter CD4 in patients’ blood leading to cell destruction, said Chulalongkorn University’s Thira Worathanarat, who flagged up the study in his Facebook post on Monday.
The researchers believe the virus enters CD4 cells via the lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 or LFA-1.
Thira explained that CD4 T are immune cells that coordinate the fight against diseases such as HIV. However, if the Covid-19 virus enters the body and is left untreated to continuously destroy these cells, immunodeficiency and death from opportunistic infections can follow.
He explained that more study was required to find out how severely the body could be affected and what long-term consequences could result from attacks by the Covid virus on CD4 T cells.
Reference:
Shen, XR, Geng, R, Li, Q et al: ACE2-independent infection of T lymphocytes by SARS-CoV-2. Sig Transduct Target Ther 7, 83 (2022).
