About 40 percent of corona patients who end up in hospital have heart complications such as a heart attack or arrhythmia. To better understand the connection between a coronavirus infection and heart problems, researchers from Amsterdam UMC looked for a cause. “We have unraveled a molecular mechanism that contributes to these heart problems,” says physiologist Reinier Boon.
During the corona pandemic, it turned out that many corona patients had problems with their heart. Lead researcher Reinier Boon and his colleagues started a study to better understand the relationship between a covid-19 infection and heart problems. Boon: “We now know which mechanism causes heart problems due to Covid-19. We examined, among other things, blood plasma and heart biopsies from corona patients. We saw less of the molecule H19 in the blood vessel cells of the heart in these patients compared to the control group. And H19 is important for the proper functioning of the heart muscle.” In addition, the researchers discovered that a reduction in H19 molecules leads to more IL-6, an inflammation-promoting substance. Large amounts of IL-6 can cause inflammation, and finally Boon and his colleagues saw that this inflammation causes the heart muscle cells to work less well.
Inhibitors
Recently, covid-19 patients who are admitted to hospital receive standard IL-6 inhibitors. This is to a life-threatening acute overreaction of the immune system, also called cytokinestorm called braking. “This study shows that inhibiting IL-6 may also help reduce cardiac complications caused by Covid-19,” said co-principal investigator Rio Juni. “This discovery gives scientists the opportunity to continue looking for solutions to reduce or prevent heart problems in a covid-19 infection.”
Photography: Amsterdam UMC