How Blood Sugar Can Trigger a Deadly Immune Response in the Flu and Possibly COVID-19

Glucose metabolism plays a key role in the cytokine storm seen in influenza, and the link could have potential implications for novel coronavirus infections

How Blood Sugar Can Trigger a Deadly Immune Response in the Flu and Possibly COVID-19
Influenza and COVID-19 infections can trigger an out-of-control immune response involving molecules called cytokines. An illustration of interleukin-4, a cytokine involved in allergic response, is shown here. Credit: Juan Gaertner Getty Images

Many of the people dying in the novel coronavirus pandemic appear to be harmed more by their own immune system than by the virus itself. The infection can trigger a cytokine storm—a surge in cell-signaling proteins that prompt inflammation—that hits the lungs, attacking tissues and potentially resulting in organ failure and death. But this phenomenon is not unique to COVID-19; it sometimes occurs in severe influenza, too. Now a study sheds light on one of the metabolic mechanisms that help orchestrate such runaway inflammation. Tiếp tục đọc “How Blood Sugar Can Trigger a Deadly Immune Response in the Flu and Possibly COVID-19”