2023-05-23 11:10:29
Researchers from KU Leuven and UZ Leuven have succeeded in mapping an ‘immunological footprint’ of people who were infected with the corona virus. The footprint showed that the presence of a certain protein increased the chance of dying from the virus. The research was published Monday in the scientific journal Nature Aging.
In the summer of 2021, the researchers took samples of nasal mucus from more than 600 people who worked or lived in three residential care centers in Nivelles, Liège and Zaventem. A major covid outbreak had occurred in each of the care homes, with more than a fifth of residents who tested positive for the virus ultimately dying from the disease. Almost all residents had been vaccinated twice.
A striking difference in the three outbreaks was that they involved three different variants of the corona virus. In one of the centers the delta variant was involved, another center had to deal with infections with the gamma variant, and the third center had the mu variant, which is less well known to the general public. The latter, the mu variant, was not considered a ‘worrying corona variant’, but an ‘interesting variant’.
Protein
«It came as a surprise that the ‘not worrying’ mu variant could also lead to so many deaths», says immunologist Johan Van Weyenbergh (Rega Institute-KU Leuven). “That’s why we wanted to find out how this could be explained, and what elements were common to the three outbreaks.”
The analyzes of the nasal swabs showed that the coronavirus was more likely to cause a fatal outcome in people who had a high amount of a certain cytokine protein in the immune system. “The protein causes an inflammatory response within the immune system of someone who is infected with the virus,” explains Van Weyenbergh. “The more cytokine protein was found in people’s nasal swabs, the faster they died.”
The research also revealed that the virus remained in the air for a very long time. Aerosols containing virus particles were still found in the residential care centers up to more than fifty days after the first case was detected. “This points to the importance of good ventilation,” says the immunologist. «Another risk factor was the high viral load in the noses of the residents. New vaccines could be aimed at this: by generating immunity where the virus first strikes, i.e. in the nose and throat, people could be better protected against serious illness and infection.”
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