Authors: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause significant illness and death while treatment options remain limited. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists have discovered a potential strategy to prevent life-threatening inflammation, lung damage and organ failure in patients with COVID-19. The research appeared online in the journal Cell.

The scientists identified the drugs after discovering that the hyperinflammatory immune response associated with COVID-19 leads to tissue damage and multi-organ failure in mice by triggering inflammatory cell death pathways. The researchers detailed how the inflammatory cell death signaling pathway worked, which led to potential therapies to disrupt the process.

“Understanding the pathways and mechanism driving this inflammation is critical to develop effective treatment strategies,” said corresponding author Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti, Ph.D., vice chair of the St. Jude Department of Immunology. “This research provides that understanding. We also identified the specific cytokines that activate inflammatory cell death pathways and have considerable potential for treatment of COVID-19 and other highly fatal diseases, including sepsis.”

For More Information: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201118225101.htm