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GUWAHATI: The SARS-CoV-2 virus causing Covid-19 may have the ability to reactivate dormancy tuberculosis (TB), according to a study. This is alarming news for countries like India, which accounts for around 40 percent of the population with dormant or latent diseases. TB.
The study, led by researchers of Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati and the University of Massachusetts, showed that infection with a specific strain of coronavirus reactivated dormant tuberculous mycobacterium (MTB) in mice.
The findings, detailed in The American Journal of Pathology, could pave the way for new vaccines against the infectious disease and avert a possible global tuberculosis epidemic.
“The discovery of tuberculosis reactivation in a stem cell-mediated Mtb dormant mouse model during infection with the MHV-1 coronavirus indicates that in the long term, after the pandemic, the SARS-CoV-2 virus could activate dormant bacterial infections. This is an important finding given the current coronavirus pandemic, where many people in India and other developing countries with dormant TB infection may see an increase in active TB cases after Covid -19, ”explained lead investigator Bikul Das from the Department of Stem Cells and Infectious Diseases. , KaviKrishna Laboratory, IIT-Guwahati.
“There is an urgent need to study the association of Covid-19 with the reactivation of dormant tuberculosis to avoid a possible global tuberculosis pandemic,” Das added.
The team studied murine hepatitis virus-1 (MHV-1) infection of the coronavirus strain in the lung in a mouse model (dMtb) of MTB-mediated mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) dormancy. ). This showed 20-fold lower viral loads than control mice without dMtb at the third week of viral infection and a six-fold increase in altruistic stem cells (AUC), thereby improving defense.
TB was reactivated in dMtb mice, suggesting that dormant TB bacteria hijack these AUCs to replicate in the lungs and cause pulmonary TB. The results suggest that these AUCs are transient (they develop for two weeks and then undergo apoptosis or cell suicide) and exhibit antiviral activities against MHV-1 by secreting soluble factors.
“It is important to understand the host’s defense mechanism against this disease in order to develop a better vaccine and / or treatment. We therefore postulated that, like bacteria, adult stem cells may also exhibit an altruistic defense mechanism to protect their niche against external threats, “Das said.
The study, led by researchers of Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati and the University of Massachusetts, showed that infection with a specific strain of coronavirus reactivated dormant tuberculous mycobacterium (MTB) in mice.
The findings, detailed in The American Journal of Pathology, could pave the way for new vaccines against the infectious disease and avert a possible global tuberculosis epidemic.
“The discovery of tuberculosis reactivation in a stem cell-mediated Mtb dormant mouse model during infection with the MHV-1 coronavirus indicates that in the long term, after the pandemic, the SARS-CoV-2 virus could activate dormant bacterial infections. This is an important finding given the current coronavirus pandemic, where many people in India and other developing countries with dormant TB infection may see an increase in active TB cases after Covid -19, ”explained lead investigator Bikul Das from the Department of Stem Cells and Infectious Diseases. , KaviKrishna Laboratory, IIT-Guwahati.
“There is an urgent need to study the association of Covid-19 with the reactivation of dormant tuberculosis to avoid a possible global tuberculosis pandemic,” Das added.
The team studied murine hepatitis virus-1 (MHV-1) infection of the coronavirus strain in the lung in a mouse model (dMtb) of MTB-mediated mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) dormancy. ). This showed 20-fold lower viral loads than control mice without dMtb at the third week of viral infection and a six-fold increase in altruistic stem cells (AUC), thereby improving defense.
TB was reactivated in dMtb mice, suggesting that dormant TB bacteria hijack these AUCs to replicate in the lungs and cause pulmonary TB. The results suggest that these AUCs are transient (they develop for two weeks and then undergo apoptosis or cell suicide) and exhibit antiviral activities against MHV-1 by secreting soluble factors.
“It is important to understand the host’s defense mechanism against this disease in order to develop a better vaccine and / or treatment. We therefore postulated that, like bacteria, adult stem cells may also exhibit an altruistic defense mechanism to protect their niche against external threats, “Das said.
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