Jun 4, 2020
Michael Betts and his lab have
focused on recoverable viruses like influenza and those that never
leave human bodies like HIV. He explains different mechanisms of
responses as well as what’s been unusual about our immune system
and COVID-19.
He describes
Michael Betts is a professor of
microbiology at the Penn Institute for
Immunology. His lab studies human-specific responses to
viruses. He begins by explaining the immune system in general from
a microbiologist perspective. He comments that our initial response
to most viruses of lethargy and fever is pretty similar. This is an
active phase to eliminate the virus if possible.
He adds that with viruses like HIV, your body is not able to
eliminate the virus. He explains in what ways the virus replication
is always a step ahead and how its high replication rate is an
advantage for the virus. He provides other examples, like the
ability of CMV to encode an MHC complex decoy to evade detection by
the CD8+ T cells.
He also describes what the field
of
immunology has observed with COVID-19 and describes his lab
work specifically. He says that the initial response is not
different from other infections, but the continuing outcomes and
manifestations of those outcomes run the gamut. They’ve focused on
reactions of T-cells and the innate immune system, which is
mediated by several types of cells like monocytes.
They are noticing that severe COVID-19 has an impact on the innate
lymphocyte population. They are seeing very dramatic changes in
cell surface protein expression and in the population of cells
called neutrophils, namely an extreme elevation of these in the
blood. The cell surface protein effect is most pronounced in people
with severe disease, not mild or moderate, which means it may help
gauge reactions and treatments.
To learn more, see his lab’s website, bettslab.org, or look him up and contact him. His Twitter account is @BettsLab.