PLOS BIOLOGY: Delayed immune response makes older men more susceptible to COVID19.

September 10, 2020 //--- Among the elderly and men, COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) infections tend to be more severe, but the potential mechanism for increased mortality in both demographics is unclear.
study published On September 8, 2020 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, Nicole Lieberman and Alexander Greninger of the University of Washington and colleagues found that different immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 may depend on viral load and the timing of infection, depending on age and gender.
although the genetic diversity of the virus is limited, the clinical manifestations of COVID-19 vary widely among different patient populations.
To better understand the mechanisms that drive the diverse response of infected individuals (hosts) in different patient populations, the researchers extracted and sequenced viral RNA from swabs collected from 430 COVID-19-positive cases and 54 negative controls.
, the scientists analyzed the status of infection, viral load, age and gender response to the host's antiviral and immune response.
(Photo: www.pixabay.com) researchers found that the immune cell response was not activated until three days after the infection, and that the composition and function of the immune cells changed with the viral load, indicating abnormal antiviral response in men and the elderly.
these findings are important for the development of SARS-CoV-2 immunomodulation therapy, further research is needed as swabs are removed from the nasopharynx.
since the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, mortality rates have been higher in both the elderly and men, which may indicate a weak immune response and poor clinical prognosmology.
data show that the host's response to SARS-CoV-2 depends on the viral load and the time of infection, and we have observed that differences in age and sex may affect the severity of the disease," the authors said.
.com Source: Delayed immune responses may drive COVID-19 mortality rates among men and the elderly Original source: Lieberman NAP, Peddu V, Xie H, Shrestha L, Huang M-L, Mears MC, et al. (2020) In vivo antiviral host transcriptional response to SARS-CoV-2 by viral load, sex, and age. PLoS Biol 18 (9): e3000849. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000849.