Severe COVID-19 May Cause Long-Term Immune System Changes (News)

What you need to know

In a small study supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), severe cases of COVID-19 were shown to cause long-lasting changes to the immune system.

Researchers found that severe cases of COVID-19 can change which genes are turned on or off in certain stem cells. The study focused on stem cells that produce white blood cells, a part of the immune system. The stem cells of people who recovered from severe COVID-19 produced more white blood cells — which then produced more inflammatory signals — than the cells of healthy counterparts.

What did the researchers do?

The researchers received blood samples from 38 people recovering from severe COVID-19 and 19 healthy people. They identified differences in gene expression between the recovering and healthy participants’ stem cells. The gene expression in the recovering participants’ stem cells was associated with higher production of white blood cells.

Quelle: covid19.nih.gov