It’s unclear whether differing odds of dying between men and women reflect inherent differences between male and female immune systems or differences rooted in gender norms.
In rats, the spleen directs a cytokine surge that drives system-wide inflammation, but it is not, as once believed, the main producer of the chemical messenger.
Genetically engineered cells that overproduce ACE2, the receptor the novel coronavirus uses to enter cells, neutralize infection in vitro and mop up inflammatory cytokines in mice.
Several routes exist for immune cells to communicate with neurons in the central nervous system, though T cells rarely come in direct contact with neural tissue.
Researchers are trying to make sense of immune systems gone haywire and develop biomarkers to predict who will become the sickest from a coronavirus infection.
Excess of the inflammatory molecule bradykinin may explain the fluid build-up in the lungs of patients with coronavirus infections. Clinical trials of inhibitors are putting this hypothesis to the test.