Infection with COVID-19 can lead to the formation of blood clots in the lungs, which can be fatal in severe cases and carry the risk of serious sequelae. Researchers of Academia Sinica in Taiwan found the key cause of thrombosis in COVID-19 patients is that the COVID-19 pathogen SARS-CoV-2 activates platelets to amplify the inflammatory response, which in turn produces blood clots. Blocking two receptors on the surface of neutrophils, CLEC5A and TLR2 alleviates thrombotic symptoms and reduces intravascular coagulation and inflammation.
The research has been published in the Journal of Biomedical Science.
Sung Pei Shan, the first author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at the Genomics Research Center, said that blood samples collected from patients in the acute phase of COVID-19 found that the blood contained a high amount of extracellular vesicles (EVs), most of which were derived from platelets. Apparently, it is related to the activation of platelets after encountering the virus. When platelets are activated by the virus, they release a large number of extracellular thylakoids to stimulate neutrophils, resulting in a large number of neutrophil extracellular network structures (NETs) and suicide cell death (NETosis). Earlier studies have found that while the formation of NETs helps clear bacteria, too many NETs can trigger blood clots, which can lead to the blockage of microvessels in the lungs….