Study sheds new light on the immune system response to COVID-19

A team of immunology experts from research organizations in Belgium and the UK has come together to apply their pioneering research methods to put individuals' COVID-19 responses under the microscope.

Published today in the journal Clinical and Translational Immunology, their research adds to the developing picture of the immune system response and our understanding of the immunological features associated with the development of severe and life-threatening disease following COVID-19.

This understanding is crucial to guide the development of effective healthcare and 'early-warning' systems to identify and treat those at risk of a severe response.

One of the most puzzling questions about the global COVID-19 pandemic is why individuals show such a diverse response. Some people don't show any symptoms, termed 'silent spreaders', whereas some COVID-19 patients require intensive care support as their immune response becomes extreme.

Age and underlying health conditions are known to increase the risk of a severe response but the underlying reasons for the hyperactive immune response seen in some individuals are unexplained, although likely to be due to many factors contributing together.

To investigate the immune system variations that might explain the spectrum of responses, teams of researchers from the VIB Centre for Brain and Disease Research and KU Leuven in Belgium and the Babraham Institute in the UK worked with members of the CONTAGIOUS consortium to compare the immune system response to COVID-19 in patients showing mild-moderate or severe effects, using healthy individuals as a control group.
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