Study shows endothelial cell targeting could help fight COVID-19 symptoms

Admin on 15 / 12 / 2020 under #COVID-19

For COVID-19 patients with serious lung disease, targeting endothelial cells—cells that comprise the blood vessel wall which regulate oxygen exchange between airways and the bloodstream—may be a novel approach restoring normal lung function. This hypothesis stems from a study by researchers in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology in the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University and published in mBio, the leading journal for the American Society for Microbiology.

SARS-CoV-2 causes COVID-19, characterized by pulmonary edema, viral pneumonia, coagulopathy, inflammation and other physiological abnormalities. SARS-CoV-2 uses angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors to infect and damage ciliated epithelial vascular cells in the upper respiratory tract. Yet how SARS2 dysregulates vascular functions causing an acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in COVID-19 patients remains an enigma.

Source:https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-12-endothelial-cell-covid-symptoms.html