An international study led by Aragon suggests more effective treatments for COVID-19.

An international study led by Julián Pardo, a researcher at the University of Zaragoza and IIS Aragón, paves the way to more effective treatments by reducing inflammation and preventing respiratory failure in COVID-19. In particular, we are talking about neutralizing FasL protein is key to reducing mortality and respiratory distress syndrome Acute effect in the treatment of COVID-19. Research published in Differentiation of cell death made possible thanks to development of a new SARS-CoV-2 virus adapted for mice, whose infection closely mimics COVID-19 in humans, thereby paving the way for new therapeutic strategies. “We found that therapeutic blockade of FasL using a molecule previously tested in cancer clinical trials markedly improved survival in mice by reducing inflammation and preventing respiratory failure caused by acute respiratory distress syndrome, one of the leading causes of death in patients with COVID-19 “says Julián Pardo, principal investigator of the group “Immunotherapy, inflammation, infection and cancer” of the University of Zaragoza, the Health Research Institute of Aragon (IIS Aragón) and CIBERINFEC.

The most effective treatments

Moreover, this therapeutic approach prevents lymphopenia or low number of lymphocytes in the blood, potentially protecting against secondary infections. Thus, the ultimate goal is to achieve more effective treatments. “This approach represents a paradigm shift in the treatment of COVID-19 because it does not focus on blocking inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, IL-1 or TNF, which are a consequence rather than a cause of inflammation, and this is true. also a more selective blockade than using corticosteroids,” says Pardo. The team is currently assessing whether this isolation could be useful in preventing long-term COVID. On the other hand, an international clinical trial (ASUNCTIS: NCT04535674) was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of FasL blockade in patients with COVID-19. IIS Aragón and the CIBERINFEC group also took part. This may represent a decisive step forward not only in the fight against this disease, but also in achieving more effective treatments for severe respiratory infections.which cause similar symptoms to the flu.