Hello! I have been a doctor for 21 years. My name is Georgy Olegovich Sapego. In this article, I will answer questions about the cytokine storm.
They started talking about the cytokine storm in 1993. It's such a riot of immunity. Most often he is remembered in connection with an infection.
Cytokines
The meaning of the cytokine storm in cytokines. These are such small proteins that our body uses to transmit signals between cells. Like some red flags to wave and attract attention.
The most popular cytokines that everyone has heard of are interferons. Remember those? Interferon used to be fashionable to drip into the nose.
In addition to interferons, there are several other types of cytokines. They are united by one property - they boost immunity. They are professional provocateurs. More than anything, cytokines love inflammation.
In peacetime, cytokines help fight infection, educate and train young immune cells. That is, they are engaged in very important and responsible matters.
Lungs
All sorts of horror stories about cytokines often happen when an infection appears in the lungs.
Our lungs are not as delicate and vulnerable as many think. In fact, the lungs have powerful immunity. It is so powerful that half of the strength of this immunity is spent on restraining itself.
That is, we are constantly sick with some kind of cold, sneeze and cough. If the immunity in our lungs always worked at full strength, then we would regularly lie with a heavy pneumonia. Therefore, the immunity in the lungs restrains itself. He's expecting something serious, like a severe flu. And then the immunity will lower all dogs on this flu.
Cytokines love such a riot of immunity, therefore, they also participate in the life of the lungs. They keep the immune cells on alert and await attack.
Cytokines are also distinguished by their secrecy. They don't like to be seen. Cytokines do not appear in the blood just like that. They sit somewhere on the periphery in organs and tissues. Staff work is not for them. Cytokines need to be at the forefront. At the front.
And it struck... storm
What's wrong with storms? They spoil and destroy everything.
Inflammation in our body has five classic signs:
- redness;
- edema;
- heat;
- pain;
- dysfunction.
The last point not all organs can survive. If we have a bruised knee, then we can sit still, not run, not jump and endure a dysfunction of the knee. But if the lungs are inflamed, then little oxygen will enter our body. From this you can die.
The inflammation gradually goes away, and the case ends with scarring. The scar will cover the holes from the abscesses, but will tighten and cut an organ or part of the body. Once a scar appears, the organ will never function as it used to.
Cytokines trigger all signs of inflammation and further stimulate the formation of scar tissue. It turns out that they know how to do all the dirty tricks that are possible.
And now a virus attacks the lungs. If it is a pesky virus like the flu, then it very quickly invades the cells of the lungs. Cytokines immediately declare a combat alert. They have been waiting for this evil virus all their lives and instantly use their entire arsenal.
They stimulate immune cells, release the most aggressive dogs of immunity from the leash and pre-adjust building materials to the sore spot to erect scar tissue.
When cytokines work together to do everything they can, a chain reaction begins in the body, like in a nuclear reactor. All cells involved in combat continuously receive and release cytokines. That is, this crowd of cells is waving randomly with all the flags they have. A powerful inflammation is kindled in the lungs.
Small blood vessels that were supposed to carry blood from the lungs to the heart become leaky. This is how it begins acute respiratory distress syndromewhich we discussed in a previous post.
Through these same blood vessels, a huge army of brutal cytokines is thrown out of the lungs into the general bloodstream and causes disturbances throughout the body. Even if the virus dies at the same time, the body suffers even more than from the virus. This is called a cytokine storm.
