A rare but deadly autoimmune disease appears to be on the rise in the north of England, and new research suggests the outbreak may be linked to coronavirus infection. The disease, known as anti-MDA5-positive dermatomyositis, was primarily observed in Asian populations before the pandemic, but is now rapidly increasing among white people living in Yorkshire.
The disease is caused by antibodies that attack an enzyme called MDA5 (melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5) and involves progressive interstitial pneumonia characterized by scarring of lung tissue. Between 2020 and 2022, doctors in Yorkshire reported an unprecedented 60 MDA5 autoimmune cases, resulting in eight deaths.
Researchers who analyzed this spike in a new study say the sudden increase in cases coincides with a large wave of coronavirus infections at the peak of the pandemic. This immediately caught their attention because MDA5 is an RNA receptor that plays a key role in recognizing the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
“Here we report that in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the proportion of positive tests for anti-MDA5 in our region (Yorkshire) has sharply increased. This entity is relatively rare in the UK. “This was noteworthy,” the study authors wrote. . They say that this phenomenon likely represents “another form of MDA5+ disease in the COVID-19 era,” which they refer to as “MDA5 autoimmune and interstitial pneumonia in the COVID-19 era” (MIP -C).
To understand the mechanisms underlying this newly identified condition, researchers used data processing tools that looked for common characteristics among members of the medical cohort. In doing so, they discovered that patients with MDA5 autoimmunity also tended to have higher levels of an inflammatory cytokine called interleukin-15 (IL-15).
I comment on this discovery in the following article statementstudy author Pradipta Ghosh said that IL-15 “pushes cells to the brink of exhaustion and is an immunological expression that is very often a hallmark of progressive interstitial lung disease, or lung fibrosis.” There is a possibility of creating a mold.”
Overall, only eight of the 60 patients had previously tested positive for COVID-19, meaning many may have had asymptomatic infections that they were unaware of. It suggests that there is a sex. This means that even mild infections without early symptoms may be sufficient to cause MDA5 autoimmunity.
“Given that the peak in MDA5-positive tests followed the peak in 2021 COVID-19 cases and coincided with the peak in vaccinations, these findings suggest that MDA5 from SARS-CoV-2 and/or vaccine exposure “This suggests an immune response to or autoimmunity,” the researchers concluded.
Mr Ghosh said the phenomenon was unlikely to be limited to Yorkshire, with reports of MIP-C now coming in from all over the world.
The study was published in the journal e-biomedicine.
