Jakarta, CNN Indonesia –
A new study published in the journal summarizes a series of hypotheses about whether Bradykinin causes the infectious effects corona virus SARS-CoV-2 penyebab Covid-19 so severe and deadly.
Bradykinin is a 9 amino acid peptide, and has many biological activities. Uncontrolled human peptide called bradykinin can cause some of the varied and sometimes deadly symptoms seen in people who have contracted the coronavirus.
Bradykinin function
Bradykinin usually helps regulate blood pressure, unfortunately the coronavirus seems to overproduce bradykinin for some people. This in turn causes a kind of “bradykinin storm”. This storm makes the body react to cause a number of symptoms that are common in Covid-19.
Bradykinin lowers blood pressure by dilating blood vessels, but it causes smooth muscle contraction in the lungs and intestines. Bradykinin also makes blood vessels leak and causes fluid to collect in tissue tissues and other organs, as quoted from The Scientist.
Most Covid-19 patients also present with symptoms of acute respiratory distress (ARDS), inflammation and edema, and fluid buildup. This can occur due to leaky blood vessels, immune cells (as well as the cytokines and other molecules produced by them), and plasma proteins. Bradykinin is a plasma protein that can cause this acute inflammation.
Dry cough is also thought to be an effect caused by bradykinin due to nerves in the upper airway becoming too sensitive.
Effects to the lungs
The research team re-examined the composition of lung fluid collected from coronavirus patients. The team found that Covid-19 decreased the amount of ACE and increased the amount of ACE2 used by the corona virus as an entry point for the human body.
In fact, ACE2 appears to increase 200-fold. Whereas usually high levels of ACE2 are not found in lung tissue.
This imbalance causes bradykinin levels to rise. In fact, most of the proteins involved in the production and signaling of bradykinin are undetectable in lung fluid under normal conditions. However, the protein increases sharply during corona virus infection.
Meanwhile the enzymes involved in the degradation of bradykinin go down. In lung tissue, this new imbalance causes pain, dilated blood vessels, and increased vascular permeability.
The bradykinin system also has a complex relationship with blood clotting, which could be related to some of the coronavirus pathologies observed in that area as well.
Reporting from Sciencemag, the journal authors immediately suggested multiple interventions with FDA-approved drugs. Not all of this is actionable.
Reporting from New ScienceNow scientists have a drug to control bradykinin. The drug is being tested as a treatment for people with Covid-19.
(jnp / eks)
– .
