tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Rev Med Virol
. 2020 Jul 15;e2144.
doi: 10.1002/rmv.2144. Online ahead of print.
Why the elderly appear to be more severely affected by COVID-19: The potential role of immunosenescence and CMV
Seilesh Kadambari[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Paul Klenerman[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Andrew J Pollard[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
The significantly higher mortality rates seen in the elderly compared with young children during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic is likely to be driven in part by an impaired immune response in older individuals. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) seroprevalence approaches 80% in the elderly. CMV has been shown to accelerate immune ageing by affecting peripheral blood T cell phenotypes and increasing inflammatory mediated cytokines such as IL-6. The elderly with pre-existing but clinically silent CMV infection may therefore be particularly susceptible to severe Covid-19 disease and succumb to a cytokine storm which may have been promoted by CMV. Here, we evaluate the potential role of CMV in those with severe Covid-19 disease and consider how this relationship can be investigated in current research studies.
Keywords: CMV; COVID-19; immunosenescence.
. 2020 Jul 15;e2144.
doi: 10.1002/rmv.2144. Online ahead of print.
Why the elderly appear to be more severely affected by COVID-19: The potential role of immunosenescence and CMV
Seilesh Kadambari[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Paul Klenerman[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Andrew J Pollard[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 32671966
- DOI: 10.1002/rmv.2144
Abstract
The significantly higher mortality rates seen in the elderly compared with young children during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic is likely to be driven in part by an impaired immune response in older individuals. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) seroprevalence approaches 80% in the elderly. CMV has been shown to accelerate immune ageing by affecting peripheral blood T cell phenotypes and increasing inflammatory mediated cytokines such as IL-6. The elderly with pre-existing but clinically silent CMV infection may therefore be particularly susceptible to severe Covid-19 disease and succumb to a cytokine storm which may have been promoted by CMV. Here, we evaluate the potential role of CMV in those with severe Covid-19 disease and consider how this relationship can be investigated in current research studies.
Keywords: CMV; COVID-19; immunosenescence.