Scientists from the Far East Scientific Center for Respiratory Physiology and Pathology discovered that pregnant women catch Covid-19 worse due to disorders in their immune cells. They also calculated two factors that predicted severe pneumonia in pregnant women with COVID-19. The Russian Ministry of Education and Science told socialbites.ca about this.
“Pregnancy is a special condition of a woman’s body associated with changes in the immune system. These changes increase a pregnant woman’s susceptibility to infections, including coronavirus. Previously, it was revealed that during pregnancy neutrophils (cells of the immune system) are in a state of increased activity, which determines the pro-inflammatory nature of immune reactions,” Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences Irina Andrievskaya told socialbites.ca.
During pregnancy, a number of changes occur in the body’s immune and cardiopulmonary systems, making the woman vulnerable to infectious diseases. If a pregnant woman is infected with coronavirus, the risk of serious illness and death is high.
It is known that the presence of COVID-19 can increase the risk of premature birth, preeclampsia (one of the most dangerous complications characterized by arterial hypertension) and fetal growth restriction. There is also a risk of infection to the newborn child; Virus particles are found in the placenta, amniotic fluid and even breast milk.
However, until now it has not been clear how the functional properties of pregnant women’s immune system cells change and how this is linked to the development of lung damage in Covid-19. It turned out that pregnant women with COVID-19 with changes in the average volume of lungs have significantly increased numbers of neutrophil traps (these are fibers that serve as one of the ways to protect against bacterial infections) and succinate dehydrogenase (an enzyme located in the blood). formation of cellular energy. Its activity can serve as an indicator of the state of cells, including the immune system.
These two indicators reflect the severity of pneumonia in pregnant women with COVID-19. In the future, the identified parameters may serve as targets for the development of treatment.
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