Covid19 triggers massive inflammation? Here's what the experts have to say
India TV NewsUS researchers have identified the reason why Covid-19 causes severe inflammation in some people, leading to acute respiratory distress and multi-organ damage. They found that SARS-CoV-2 can infect monocytes - immune cells in the blood that act as "sentinels" or early responders to infection - as well as macrophages, similar immune cells in the lungs. "In the infected patients, about 6 per cent of blood monocytes were dying an inflammatory death," Lieberman said. When the researchers studied the cells for signs of SARS-CoV-2, they found that about 10 per cent of monocytes and 8 per cent of lung macrophages were infected. Lieberman thinks SARS-CoV-2 infection of monocytes might have previously been missed in part because researchers often study frozen blood samples, in which dead cells do not show up.