Israeli scientists think they know why virus is severe for some, mild for others

Hoping to point way to drug therapy, Weizmann team says it found cells called in to fight coronavirus in lungs may actually worsen disease, sparking ‘storm’ that can lead to death

By NATHAN JEFFAY
14 May 2020, 6:33 pm 4

Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, one of the greatest mysteries to confound researchers has been figuring out why the disease leaves some people almost completely unharmed, while others suffer serious conditions and die.

The answer, according to Israeli scientists, is that lungs of the worst-affected patients become riddled with immune cells that exacerbate the pathogen’s impact instead of fighting it. In patients who are less affected by the disease, this doesn’t happen, says the team from the Weizmann Institute of Science.
“In most cases the immune system helps recovery,” said Amir Giladi of Weizmann’s Department of Immunology. “But for some reason, and this represents the real mystery of coronavirus, this is turned around, and the immune system is not your helper, but rather makes the disease more intense.”

He is part of a Weizmann team that set out to pinpoint when things start to go downhill for the worst-stricken patients, hoping that drug companies will be able to use their research to develop therapies to stop the disease.

The pharmaceutical industry is currently struggling to understand the best way to counter COVID-19’s impact, but Giladi is “hopeful” that his research will move things forward by “providing a ‘target’ in the body for intervention.”

More: https://www.timesofisrael.com/israelis-take-crack-at-virus-riddle-why-severe-for-some-and-mild-for-others/?fbclid=IwAR3joDv1uXShjVBy26zMzxiNIpQX0mCBj519c6r6oURYqjYYhXKUmhkPLgA