They are exploring a new therapeutic approach that could reduce mortality from COVID-19.

The CIBER Regional Group for Infectious Diseases (CIBERINFEC) in Aragon is leading an international study that is paving the way to more effective treatments for COVID-19 by neutralizing FasL, a critical protein in the immune system, mitigating the effects of the virus. acute respiratory distress syndrome and reduced mortality.

This study, carried out by immunologist Julián Pardo, professor and researcher at the University of Zaragoza and the Health Research Institute of Aragon (IIS Aragón), and Maikel Arias and Iratche Uranga from IIS Aragón, was published in the journal Differentiation of Cell Death. ‘.

The work is reportedly focused on the discovery and application of a new treatment model for COVID-19, a disease that, despite advances in vaccination, continues to pose serious challenges worldwide with high numbers of deaths and related illnesses. The research was made possible by the development of a new mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 virus whose infection closely mimics COVID-19 in humans, paving the way for new therapeutic strategies.

The team found that overstimulation of the activity of FasL, an essential molecule involved in the regulation of cell death and immunological homeostasis, leads to severe destruction of lung cells, which causes inflammatory reactions and severe respiratory failure – situations commonly seen in critically ill patients. cases of COVID-19.

“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.

Additionally, this therapeutic approach prevents lymphopenia, or low lymphocyte counts in the blood, potentially protecting against secondary infections. “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. also a more selective blockade than using corticosteroids,” says Dr. Pardo. The team is currently assessing whether this isolation could be useful in preventing long-term COVID.

Recently, an international clinical trial was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of FasL blockade in patients with COVID-19, in which IIS Aragón and the CIBERINFEC group also participated, which could be a decisive advance not only for this disease, but also for other serious respiratory infections causing similar symptoms such as flu.

This work also stands out for its international collaboration, bringing together research centers from Germany, Austria, Hungary, the UK and Spain, a team led by Henning Walczak (University of Cologne and University College London), Michael Bergmann (University Hospital Vienna) and Julián Pardo (IIS Aragon/University Zaragoza), marking an important milestone in the fight against COVID19 and opening up new opportunities for the treatment of infectious diseases.

In addition, CIBERINFEC members such as Iratche Uranga-Murillo, Diego de Miguel and Maikel Arias took part, as well as Rebeca Sanz-Pamplona from CIBERESP and a bioinformatician from IIS Aragón, thereby consolidating an innovative approach that could change the treatment of serious respiratory diseases. diseases. infections.