Study shows that gut fungus has a long-term impact on the immunological response to severe COVID-19

New York [US], October 28 (ANI): According to a new study led by Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian, specific gut-dwelling fungi thrive in severe cases of COVID-19, exacerbating the diseases extreme inflammation while also causing long-term immune system changes...

Using patient samples and preclinical models, the researchers discovered that the proliferation of fungus in the intestine, particularly Candida albicans yeast strains, causes an increase in immune cells whose actions can exacerbate lung injury...

The research reveals a new dimension of the complex pathology unleashed by severe COVID-19, according to senior author Dr Iliyan Iliev, an associate professor of immunology in medicine in the Department of Medicine, co-director of the Microbiome Core Lab and a member of the Jill Roberts Institute for Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Weill Cornell Medicine...

The team first made the connection when analysis of blood samples from patients at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center diagnosed with severe COVID-19 unveiled the presence of antibodies tuned to attack fungi common to the gut...

Turning to preclinical models, the investigators found that mice bearing fungi from patients with severe COVID-19 produced more neutrophils in their blood and lungs, and had signs of heightened inflammation when infected with SARS-CoV-2..

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