Research Suggests Unusual Form of Cell Death Causes Severe COVID-19 Lung Damage

Ferroptosis may be the driving force behind severe pulmonary manifestations of COVID-19.

The Epoch Times

Ferroptosis may be the driving force behind severe pulmonary manifestations of COVID-19.

SARS-CoV-2 infection may cause severe pulmonary conditions such as pneumonia, inflammation, and acute respiratory distress syndrome, but until now, researchers have not understood the driving force behind lung damage caused by COVID-19.

In a recently published paper in Nature Communications, researchers at Columbia University discovered that a relatively new form of iron-dependent cell death called ferroptosis is the underlying mechanism causing extreme and potentially fatal pulmonary conditions in COVID-19 patients.

“This finding adds crucial insight to our understanding of how COVID-19 affects the body that will significantly improve our ability to fight life-threatening cases of the disease,” Brent Stockwell, chair of the department of biological sciences at Columbia and co-lead author of the study, said in a news release.

What Is Ferroptosis?

Human cells have powerful mechanisms for maintaining survival, but when those mechanisms become impaired, lipid peroxides—generated through normal metabolic activities—can accumulate to toxic levels, damage cell membranes, and kill cells through ferroptosis.

Ferroptosis was first identified in 2012 by Mr. Stockwell and differs from apoptosis—the most common form of cell death that occurs with aging and in some disease processes. Ferroptosis is an unusual type of cell death linked to altered iron metabolism, glutathione depletion, glutathione peroxidase 4 inactivation, and increased oxidative stress.

Since proposing the concept, Mr. Stockwell’s lab has demonstrated that ferroptosis can occur in healthy contexts as part of the body’s normal processes. For example, cell death can remove cells infected with SARS-CoV-2, inhibiting the replication and spread of the virus or counteract diseases like cancer, which involves rapid cell growth.

On the other hand, ferroptosis can be destructive, attacking healthy cells in patients with neurodegenerative diseases or causing severe manifestations of COVID-19 and possibly even long COVID…