Gut health compromised in severe COVID-19

Date:
February 18, 2022
Source:
King's College London
Summary:
New research of samples of intestine from people who have died
of COVID- 19 has shown the impact of the virus on the gut immune
system.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
New research of samples of intestine from people who have died of COVID-19
has shown the impact of the virus on the gut immune system.


==========================================================================
The study is published today in Frontiers in Immunology by researchers
from King's College London with funding by the Medica Research Council
via the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium, and support from the NIHR
Guy's and St Thomas' BRC. It looked at samples of gastrointestinal tract
from patients who died after being diagnosed with COVID-19 during the
first wave of the pandemic.

Lymphoid tissue in the gut normally maintains healthy intestinal
microbial populations which are essential for good health. Researchers
observed that the system that would normally regulate the composition
of the microbial communities -- otherwise known as Peyer's Patches --
were severely disrupted in severe COVID-19. This was irrespective of
whether there was evidence of virus present in the gut or not.

While severe COVID-19 can lead to breathing problems and high fever,
some patients can experience diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting, which
suggests involvement of the gastrointestinal tract.

Professor Jo Spencer, from King's College London said: "This study
shows that in severe COVID-19, this key component of the immune system
is disrupted, whether the intestine itself is infected with SARS-CoV-2
or not. This would likely contribute to the disturbances in intestinal microbial populations in COVID-19 reported by others." Observations of
the samples found the structure and cellularity in Peyer's Patches --
a grouping of lymphoid follicles that lines the small intestines - -
had been altered independent of the local levels of the virus. This
included depletion of the germinal centres, which normally propagate
antibody producing cells, in patients who died with COVID-19.

This resulting poor local immunity could lead to a reduction in microbial diversity, known as dysbiosis. Researchers also noted that the findings
suggest that oral vaccination may not be effective if the patient is
already ill, as the gut immune system is already compromised.

Professor Spencer added: "In the future it will be
important to understand factors driving such lymphoid
tissue dysregulation in severe inflammatory responses." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by King's_College_London. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Silvia C. Trevelin, Suzanne Pickering, Katrina Todd, Cynthia Bishop,
Michael Pitcher, Jose Garrido Mesa, Lucia Montorsi, Filomena Spada,
Nedyalko Petrov, Anna Green, Manu Shankar-Hari, Stuart J.D. Neil, Jo
Spencer. Disrupted Peyer's Patch Microanatomy in COVID-19 Including
Germinal Centre Atrophy Independent of Local Virus. Frontiers in
Immunology, 2022; 13 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.838328 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220218100705.htm

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