Do Certain Immune Cells Act as a Catalyst for SARS-COV2- (COVID 19) Infection?

This question really circles back to the observation that bats often contain. many lethal viruses, ebola, multiple corona species, and yet they are not sick from them, and the present thinking is that it is because their immune system ignores the viruses. By extension then, does reaction of immune cells to the virus serve as a catalyst to develop infection?

Probably. But it is likely that it is a specific line of immune cells that act as a catalyst, whereas multiple other lines serve to do the principle function - which is to defend the host.

Similar likely is also occurring with GDD, as I have mentioned repeatedly.

Also another interesting comparison, recently described histologically with COVID-19, bone marrow cell infiltrates have been found in multiple other tissues/organs, such as the heart. With COVID-19 a primary bone marrow cell observed is the megakaryocyte, which is involved in platelet production, and hence their presence in other organs results in clotting in multiple blood vessels. With Gd, and really focused on with NSF, the CD34+ circulating fibrocyte has been identified in other tissues/organs - the cell responsible for fibrosis, hence a major finding in NSF is tissue fibrosis. As I have written previously this is likely just one of a number of bone marrow cells that infiltrate other tissues in response to the immortal Gd atom. In GDD fortunately, the circulating fibrocyte is not the principle cell involved, but other cell lines, primarily in the T cell family, and probably the recently described PRIME cells.

The similarities between COVID-19 and GDD may to a large extent reflect that in the modern scientific/medical environment, we simply have learned more of the remarkable complexity and extensive interaction between multiple cells and organ systems, as the host deals with a foreign invader. My hope is that with the 1000s of researchers involved with COVID-19 research they may generate profound insights that will also be applicable to GDD. One of the issues we struggle with is that a number of drugs that are extremely important are actually quite nonspecific and broad-based in its effects on cells, when ideally drugs targeted to specific cells involved in disease would be vastly superior. Hopefully these new types of drugs will be developed shortly, to benefit everyone.

Richard Semelka, MD