“SARS-CoV-2 can trigger an overactive immune response, leading to the release of large amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines.
This excessive cytokine release can cause widespread inflammation, leading to damage in various organs, including the lungs, heart, and kidneys.”
Severe COVID-19 can cause persistent alterations in the innate immune system, leading to high levels of inflammation even after recovery.
Changes in gene expression in blood-forming stem cells were found, which were passed down to immune cells.
“In the blood of the long COVID patients, the team [at the University of Alberta] found higher levels of various proteins related to systemic inflammation—especially galectin-9 and artemin.. higher levels of galectin-9 in patients are associated with increased inflammation and brain fog.. higher levels of artemin are associated with widespread pain, more severe pain and cognitive impairment.. galectin-9 is shed by stressed neutrophils—the most abundant white blood cells—in long COVID patients. This released galectin-9 can promote chronic inflammation by affecting various immune cells.. long COVID dysregulates the production of red blood cells, which results in an abundance of immature red blood cells in the blood of these patients. Normally, immature red blood cells are present in the bone marrow but not in the blood of healthy people. It is these immature red blood cells in the blood that suppress the immune system and contribute to the elevation of artemin in the plasma of long-COVID patients."
