In pregnant women who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, male placentas showed increased immune activation compared with female placentas, according to a new study published in Science Translational Medicine. The significantly higher levels of certain genes and proteins associated with increased immune activation may help protect male fetuses from becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2 in utero, but the resulting inflammation could pose risks to the fetus and child, notes Andrea Edlow, senior author of the study and maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Moreover, pregnant women with COVID-19 transferred significantly less immunity to theIn pregnant women who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, male placentas showed increased immune activation compared with female placentas, according to a new study published in Science Translational Medicine. The significantly higher levels of c
Why some die, some survive when equally ill from COVID-19
The Harvard Gazette
Researchers at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have identified the protein “signature” of severe COVID-19, which they describe in a new study published in Cell Reports Medicine.
“We were interested in asking whether we could identify mechanisms that might be contributing to death in COVID-19,” says MGH infectious disease expert Marcia Goldberg, who studies interactions between microbial pathogens and their hosts, and is senior author of the study. “In other words, why do some patients die from this disease, while others who appear to be just as ill survive?”