众所周知 Covid-19 增加了 心脏病发作的, stroke, and Long Covid but what was not known is whether the damage occurs because the virus infects the heart tissue itself, or due to systemic 炎症 initiated by the body’s immune response to the virus. In a new study, researchers found that SARS-CoV-2 infection increased the total number of cardiac macrophages and caused them to shift from their normal function to become inflammatory. The inflammatory cardiac macrophages damage the 心 and the rest of the body. The researchers also found that blocking the immune response with a neutralizing antibody in an animal model stopped the flow of inflammatory cardiac 巨噬细胞 and preserved cardiac function indicating this approach has therapeutic potential.
众所周知，COVID-19 会增加心脏病发作、中风和长期感染新冠病毒的风险。超过 50% 的 COVID-19 感染者会出现一些炎症或心脏损伤。目前尚不清楚造成损害的原因是病毒感染心脏组织本身，还是身体对病毒的免疫反应引发的全身炎症。
一项新研究揭示了严重 COVID-19 导致的严重肺损伤与可导致心血管并发症的炎症之间的联系。这项研究的重点是被称为心脏巨噬细胞的免疫细胞，它们通常在保持组织健康方面发挥着重要作用，但会因心脏病发作或心力衰竭等损伤而变得炎症。
The researchers analysed heart tissue specimens from 21 patients who died from SARS-CoV-2-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and compared them with specimens from 33 patients who died from non-COVID-19 causes. To follow what happened to the macrophages after infection, the researchers also infected mice with SARS-CoV-2。
研究发现，SARS-CoV-2 感染增加了人类和小鼠的心脏巨噬细胞总数。感染还导致心脏巨噬细胞从正常功能转变为炎症细胞。炎症巨噬细胞会损害心脏和身体其他部位。
在小鼠中设计了一项研究，以测试他们观察到的反应是否是因为 SARS-CoV-2 直接感染心脏，或者是因为肺部的 SARS-CoV-2 感染严重到足以使心脏巨噬细胞更具炎症性。这项研究模仿了肺部炎症信号，但不存在实际的病毒。研究发现，即使在没有病毒的情况下，小鼠也表现出足够强的免疫反应，产生与死于 COVID-19 的患者和感染 SARS-CoV-2 的小鼠中观察到的相同的心脏巨噬细胞转移。
The SARS-CoV-2 virus directly inflict damage on the lung tissue. After a Covid infection, in addition to the direct damage by the virus, the immune system can damage other organs by triggering strong inflammation throughout the body.
有趣的是，还发现用中和抗体阻断小鼠的免疫反应可以阻止炎症性心脏巨噬细胞的流动并保留心脏功能。这表明，如果在临床试验中发现安全有效，这种方法（即抑制炎症可能会减少并发症）具有治疗潜力。
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参考文献：
- NIH。新闻稿 – COVID-19 期间的严重肺部感染可能会对心脏造成损害。发布于 20 年 2024 月 XNUMX 日。可在 https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/severe-lung-infection-during-covid-19-can-cause-damage-heart
- 格鲁尼·J., 等 2024.病毒引起的急性呼吸窘迫综合征通过引起心脏炎症反应导致心肌病。循环。 2024;0。最初发布于 20 年 2024 月 XNUMX 日。DOI： https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.123.066433
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