A new analysis focused on cytokine responses in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and other common respiratory viruses, and found significant differences between the two.
When our immune system is attacked by a respiratory virus, such as SARS-CoV-2 (which causes Covid-19 disease), it can cause the body’s immune response to go into overdrive by responding with a “cytokine storm”, also known as cytokine release syndrome (CRS).
Cytokines are small proteins released by many different cells in the body, including those of the immune system, according to New Scientist. Their function is to regulate our immune system and how our body reacts to internal or external stress, such as cancer, inflammation, or infection.
