How does Covid-19 affect your heart?
Viruses Can Hide In Lung Cells And Cause Chronic Disease
Doctors have long known that children who become seriously ill with certain respiratory viruses, such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), are at elevated risk of developing asthma later in life. However, the reason why this happens has remained a mystery.
A new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis may have solved this puzzle.
Viruses linger in immune cellsThe study, conducted in mice, found that respiratory viruses can remain hidden in immune cells in the lungs long after the initial symptoms of an infection have disappeared.
This lingering presence creates a persistently inflammatory environment that promotes the development of lung diseases like asthma.
Moreover, the researchers demonstrated that eliminating these infected cells could reduce signs of chronic lung damage before they progress into full-blown chronic respiratory illnesses.
Preventing chronic lung diseasesThe findings, published in Nature Microbiology, point to a potential new approach for preventing asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and other chronic lung diseases by eradicating the persistent respiratory viruses that contribute to these conditions.
"Right now, children who have been hospitalized for a respiratory infection such as RSV are sent home once their symptoms resolve," said senior author Carolina B. López, a professor of molecular microbiology at WashU Medicine.
"To reduce the risk that these children will go on to develop asthma, maybe in the future we will be able to check if all of the virus is truly gone from the lung, and eliminate all lingering virus, before we send them home."
Persistent viruses and chronic lung diseaseThere are about 27 million people in the U.S. Living with asthma. Several factors influence a person's likelihood of developing this chronic breathing condition, such as living in areas with poor air quality, exposure to cigarette smoke, and having been hospitalized for viral pneumonia or bronchitis as a child.
Some researchers – including López – had suspected that the link between severe lung infections and later asthma diagnoses might be due to lingering viruses in the lungs causing ongoing damage.
Until now, however, a direct connection between the persistent presence of a virus and chronic lung disease had not been established.
Studying common respiratory virusesLópez and first author Ítalo Araújo Castro, a postdoctoral researcher in her lab, developed a unique system using a natural mouse virus called Sendai virus and fluorescent markers to track infection.
Sendai virus is related to human parainfluenza virus, a common respiratory virus that has been associated with asthma in children, similar to RSV.
Since Sendai behaves in mice much like human parainfluenza behaves in people, it provides an excellent model for studying infections that may lead to chronic lung disease.
Viral RNA in lung immune cellsUsing the fluorescent markers, the researchers were able to observe the presence of the virus throughout the infection.
While the mice seemed to recover after about two weeks, the viral RNA and protein could still be detected weeks later in their lungs, where it was hiding inside immune cells.
"Finding persistent virus in immune cells was unexpected," said López. "I think that's why it had been missed before."
"Everyone had been looking for viral products in the epithelial cells that line the surface of the respiratory system, because that's where these viruses primarily replicate. But they were in the immune cells."
Persistent inflammatory response to virusesFurthermore, the presence of the virus altered the behavior of the infected immune cells, causing them to become more inflammatory than the uninfected cells.
This persistent inflammation set the stage for the development of chronic lung disease, the researchers explained.
Seven weeks after the initial infection, the mice's lungs exhibited signs of chronic lung damage – even though the mice appeared to have recovered.
These signs included inflammation of the air sacs and blood vessels, abnormal lung cell development, and excess immune tissue – all of which indicate long-term inflammatory lung damage. When the researchers eliminated the infected immune cells, these signs of lung damage decreased.
Broader implications of the study"We use a perfectly matched virus-host pairing to prove that a common respiratory virus can be maintained in immunocompetent hosts for way longer than the acute phase of the infection, and that this viral persistence can result in chronic lung conditions," Castro said.
"Probably the long-term health effects we see in people who are supposed to be recovered from an acute infection are actually due to persistence of the virus in their lungs."
The findings offer new insights into how chronic lung diseases might develop and provide clues for future treatments, the researchers said.
"Pretty much every single child gets infected with these viruses before the age of 3, and maybe 5% get serious enough disease that they could potentially develop persistent infection," said López.
"We're not going to be able to prevent children from getting infected in the first place. But if we understand how these viruses persist and the effects that persistence has on the lungs, we may be able to reduce the risk of serious long-term problems."
—–
Like what you read? Subscribe to our newsletter for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.
Check us out on EarthSnap, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.Com.
—–
Lung Disease News
Sep. 11, 2024 — A team of doctors and researchers have identified a new, rare type of small cell lung cancer that primarily affects younger people who have never ...
Aug. 19, 2024 — A multidisciplinary team has developed an action plan to help patients with respiratory diseases mitigate the consequences of poor air quality from ...
Aug. 13, 2024 — Researchers established a suite of parameters that can be determined using ultrasound to quantitatively measure different physical characteristics of the lung. The researchers also demonstrated that ...
Aug. 8, 2024 — Researchers develop a microstructured 'artificial lung' model using bioprinting ...
Aug. 8, 2024 — Nearly a quarter of children with recurrent wheezing have 'silent' lung infections that would be better treated with antiviral medications than commonly prescribed steroids that can carry ...
Aug. 7, 2024 — A blood test can help predict which preterm babies will go onto develop chronic lung disease, allowing for earlier diagnosis and more targeted treatments, according to a new ...
Aug. 6, 2024 — Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a dangerous malformation of the lungs and diaphragm that causes almost a third of affected babies to die from underdeveloped lungs. Medical researchers made ...
Aug. 2, 2024 — Researchers have discovered a new population of macrophages, important innate immune cells that populate the lungs after injury caused by respiratory viruses. These macrophages are instrumental in ...
July 30, 2024 — Lung diseases kill millions of people around the world each year. Treatment options are limited, and animal models for studying these illnesses and experimental medications are inadequate. Now, ...
July 30, 2024 — Researchers have identified a potential treatment for the respiratory symptoms of long COVID after discovering an unknown cause of the condition inside the ...
July 17, 2024 — A large study of 35,000 children from eight countries has found a 'robust' link between exposure to green spaces in early childhood and better lung function. The study used data from 10 ...
July 17, 2024 — A medication used to treat diabetic neuropathy may make chemotherapy treatments more effective for patients with lung cancer, according to new ...
July 10, 2024 — Cystic fibrosis is a hereditary disease that so far has been incurable. Those affected have thick, viscous mucus secretions in their lungs, and lung function diminishes steadily over time. Today, ...
July 8, 2024 — An artificial intelligence (AI) model that can estimate with high accuracy a person's lung function just by using a chest radiograph has been successfully ...
July 4, 2024 — Pseudomonas aeruginosa -- an environmental bacteria that can cause devastating multidrug-resistant infections, particularly in people with underlying lung conditions -- evolved rapidly and then ...
June 28, 2024 — A research team has shown that exposure to air pollution during childhood is directly associated with bronchitis symptoms as an adult. To date, many investigations have established air pollution ...
June 25, 2024 — A new study examined the differences in lung transplant graft outcomes from organs recovered from the two types of deceased organ donor care facilities operating in the United States. The research ...
June 14, 2024 — Researchers have developed a new nanomedicine therapy that delivers anticancer drugs to lung cancer cells and enhances the immune system's ability to fight cancer. The team showed promising ...
June 13, 2024 — The reason why targeted treatment for non-small cell lung cancer fails to work for some patients, particularly those who have never smoked, has been ...
June 12, 2024 — Engineers have developed microscopic robots, known as microrobots, capable of swimming through the lungs to deliver cancer-fighting medication directly to metastatic tumors. This approach has shown ...
Crown Princess Mette-Marit To Receive Immediate Treatment For Chronic Lung Condition
Crown Princess Mette Marit of Norway has started treatment for pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic lung condition that causes the lung tissue to become damaged.
The Norwegian Royal House confirmed on Friday that the Crown Princess, 51, will start her treatment immediately.
"Previous experience has shown that the medicines can lead to side effects that can have consequences for the Crown Princess's official programme," the Royal House said (translated to English).
"Therefore, we find it natural to share this information this time. We will inform you about changes to the official program if necessary."
Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway was diagnosed with chronic pulmonary disease in 2018It was revealed in 2018 that the Crown Princess had been diagnosed with a chronic pulmonary disease.
At the time, Mette-Marit said: "For a number of years, I have had health challenges on a regular basis, and now we know more about what is involved. The condition means that my working capacity will vary.
"The Crown Prince and I are choosing to make this public now partly because in future there will be a need to plan periods of time without an official programme to accommodate treatment and when the disease is more active."
The disease is incurable and progressively worsens over time, but the royal's doctor, Professor Kristian Bjøro at the National Hospital, has been monitoring the progression of the disease over the years and says: "The development of the disease over this period has been slow."
He is also confident that collaboration with medical teams abroad and the Crown Princess's participation in treatment trials will help with the disease.
The mother-of-three has said she finds it difficult to talk about her diagnosis What is pulmonary fibrosis?According to the NHS, Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a serious condition in which the lungs become scarred and breathing becomes increasingly difficult.
It's not clear what causes it, but it usually affects people who are around 70 to 75 years old, and is rare in people under 50.
The Crown Princess has been successfully managing her condition for yearsSymptoms can include a range of respiratory difficulties including shortness of breath and a dry cough. Patients can also experience extreme fatigue, unintentional weight loss, painful muscles and joints and a widening and rounding of the tips of the fingers or toes, called clubbing.
Several treatments can help reduce the rate at which IPF gets worse, but there's currently no treatment that can stop or reverse the scarring of the lungs. In some cases, patients will need a lung transplant.
LOVE THE ROYALS? JOIN THE CLUB!If you are reading this, the chances are you are obsessed with the royals – which is just as well because so are we! So obsessed, in fact, we've launched a club solely dedicated to covering them. So welcome to The HELLO! Royal Club. We would love you to join us there…
What is it?Interactive community offering behind-the-scenes access, exclusive royal interviews, unmissable royal insights, and an illustrious royal Inner Circle.
Member benefitsYou are royally invited to join The HELLO! Royal Club – and then to go forth and spread the word to your fellow royal fans. See you in the club!
Sign up to HELLO! Daily for all the latest and best royal coverage
By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please click here.
Comments
Post a Comment