Researchers from the United States have shown that the body's immune response to SARS-CoV-2 is influenced by changes in the metabolism of blood plasma and human immune cells. The researchers' article was published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
Scientists at the Institute of Systems Biology, together with colleagues from Washington and Stanford Universities, collected 374 blood samples from 198 patients during the first week after they were diagnosed with COVID-19. The researchers analyzed 1,387 genes that regulate the metabolic pathways of immune cells and 1,050 blood plasma metabolites.
Experts found that changes in the activity of metabolites were a factor in the increased severity of the course of coronavirus infection. In addition, single cell sequencing showed that each type of immune cell had its own specific metabolic signatures.
According to scientists, for each type of cells – T-killers, T-helpers and B-lymphocytes that contribute to the production of antibodies – a special metabolic rearrangement was characteristic. “The restructuring of the immune system associated with the plasma metabolome allowed predicting the severity of the disease and even the death of the patient,” said one of the researchers, a researcher at the Institute of Systems Biology, Yapeng Su.
