An article published in the journal Science Immunology explores the idea that studying bats’ responses to SARS-CoV-2 can provide key information on how and when to best use existing therapies for COVID-19 and develop new treatments.
Since it was first identified in December 2019, SARS-CoV-2 has mutated and variant alpha, beta, and delta strains are more infectious than the original strain . Specifically, the delta strain is 60-79% more transmissible than the alpha variant.
Marcel Nold, a researcher in the Department of Pediatrics at Monash University and one of the signatories of the work, states that there continues to be an ” urgent need for effective therapies, at least in part, due to the appearance of mutations .”
The authors caution that ” preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection represents the ultimate goal in the fight against COVID-19, but it is unclear when that will be possible .”
“Therefore, efforts to identify safe and effective therapies that prevent COVID from progressing to moderate and severe disease stages are critical in managing the pandemic,” Nold says.
The disease in bats
Bats contract the virus but do not usually show symptoms. The authors say that “preventing progression to a serious disease or treating it effectively, in other words, emulating bats, would greatly alleviate suffering and save lives.”
According to Nold, studying how bats resist coronaviruses holds substantial promise not only for SARS-CoV-2 infections, but will also “better prepare us for the next epidemic or pandemic.”
The review says that the common ancestor of the current COVID virus likely appeared in bats between 40 and 70 years ago, ” although the exact species of bat or intermediate host involved in the 2019 outbreak remains unknown .”
While bats can infect each other with SARS-CoV-2, they do not show clinical effects or show the same lung problems that affect humans so much.
The authors suggest that some of the ways that bats appear to be resistant to COVID could be used in therapies such as adjusting the human immune response to the virus, including increasing type I and III interferon responses or blocking inflammasomes. to imitate what happens in these animals.
According to the authors, all of this “could minimize the excessive inflammation, immune depletion and cytokine storms experienced in humans.”
Based on this knowledge, interdisciplinary authors discuss the best strategies regarding the choice and timing of the various currently available treatments, and the currently underdeveloped pathways that may hold promise for alleviating the suffering caused by COVID-19. all over the world.
Referencia: Christie et al. 2021. Of Bats and Men: Immunomodulartory Treatment Options for COVID-19 Guided by the Immunopathology of SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Science Immunology. DOI 10.1126/sciimmunol.abd0205
