The study findings also revealed that dexamethasone, the first drug approved for COVID-19 treatment increased the levels of these protective molecules in these patients.

Furthermore, treatment of white blood cells with SPM improved their function and reduced the expression of molecules linked to the spread of inflammation.

Understanding these mechanisms will help provide new leads into the development of treatments to limit disease severity in COVID-19 patients.

This study also offers a new insight into the disrupted biological processes that contribute to increased disease severity in COVID-19 patients.

Jesmond Dalli, Professor in Molecular Pharmacology and Lipid Mediator Unit Director at Queen Mary University of London said: “The observation that dexamethasone increased the production of SPM was a surprising finding. This finding suggests that SPM may serve as biomarkers to determine the efficacy of this drug in limiting inflammation in patients with COVID-19. Another surprising finding was that blood levels of these molecules remained altered several weeks after resolution of clinical symptoms”.

This study is the first to relate the impact that COVID-19 infections on immune responses and to explore the utility of using SPM to rectify white blood cell behavior.

SPM and SPM-based therapeutics may be useful in the treatment of infections to limit inflammation without compromising the ability of the immune system to deal with the invading pathogen.

Source: Medindia