The SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus responsible for covid-19 has shown that it has the capacity to cause people to age rapidly, according to Spanish scientists involved in an investigation that began at the beginning of the pandemic, in March 2020.
The scientists verified the involvement of cellular aging in the effects of covid-19 and the relationship between the mortality and morbidity of the coronavirus and the inflammatory response and tissue degradation associated with the aging cells of the body.
This was verified by a team of researchers led by the Severo Ochoa Center for Molecular Biology (of the Higher Council for Scientific Research and the Autonomous University of Madrid), who have published their results in the journal Aging Cell.
Senescence is a state in which aged cells lose the ability to divide and contribute to the functioning of the organism, but nevertheless, they do not disappear, but over the years they accumulate in almost all organs, where they secrete inflammatory molecules and enzymes that break down tissues.
The CSIC reported in a note released this Wednesday that the work that has now been published highlights the importance of contemplating the impact of the pro-inflammatory environment originated by these cells on the effects derived from covid-19.
When the global pandemic caused by the coronavirus began, the Carlos III Health Institute granted grants to 16 researchers from eight institutions to begin studying the relationship between the symptoms caused by the virus and senescent cells, also known as “zombie cells”. for his behavior.
“The most interesting thing is that these cells are metabolically hyperactive, which makes them harmful to the body by creating a chronic pro-inflammatory scenario in the tissues where they accumulate. The idea was to see if the virus, when it infects, amplifies the negative effects of senescent cells,” explained Cayetano von Kobbe, the researcher at the Center for Molecular Biology who has led the project.
Subsequent studies carried out in humanized mice, and therefore susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, showed the role of senescent cells in the creation of an inflammatory environment that contributes to the development of covid-19 symptoms.
The National Center for Biotechnology (CNB-CSIC), the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville -southern Spain- (IBiS, CSIC-Hospital de Sevilla-Hospital Virgen del Rocío), the Autonomous and Complutense Universities of Madrid have also participated in the work. (UAM and UCM), the Cima Universidad de Navarra (north), the Network Biomedical Research Center for Liver and Digestive Diseases (CIBEREHD-ISCIII), and the Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies (IMDEA-UAM).
The researchers verified the importance of aging cells in mortality and morbidity induced by SARS-CoV-2, which could be extrapolated to data derived from the covid-19 pandemic.
In a biosafety laboratory at the Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Center, researchers observed the ability of the virus “to age us rapidly.”
The aging of tissues is directly related to persistent covid (also called post-covid syndrome), and although it does not present an immediate effect in adults, it does show a greater implication in morbidity and mortality from SARS-CoV-2 observed in people older, detailed the CSIC.
Von Kobbe has wondered what will happen when people who have been infected reach old age with tissues that are older than normal, and has underlined the importance of investigating the pathologies associated with persistent covid now.
The study also details a new therapy based on drugs already approved by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to eliminate this type of cells.
“Any therapy that kills these cells will allow us to better reach old age and better deal with opportunistic infections such as covid, which takes advantage of the body’s low defenses and aged tissues,” observed the researcher.
