The body’s own substance itaconic acid has a dual effect
Viral infections or viral infectious diseases can be harmless, but sometimes life-threatening. It is all the more important to recognize such infections quickly and treat them in a targeted manner. Researchers are now reporting that the endogenous substance itaconic acid has an antiviral and anti-inflammatory effect.
In a study published in the journal “PLOS Pathogens” was published, the double effect of the body’s own substance itaconic acid, which has both an antiviral and anti-inflammatory effect. Their findings open up perspectives for possible therapeutic applications of itaconic acid against severe disease progression in viral infections.
Some immune cells produce itaconic acid
An important task of our immune system is to maintain the critical balance between efficient defense against a pathogen on the one hand and the protection of affected tissue on the other Message by TWINCORE – Center for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, a joint facility of the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research and the Hannover Medical School (MHH).
Symptoms of viral infections are often characterized by “too much” defense, excessive inflammation that damages the tissue. The resulting damage can then be greater than that caused by the pathogen itself.
Rheumatologist Frank Peßler, head of the “Biomarkers in Infections” research group at TWINCORE in Hanover, is particularly interested in these facets of infectious diseases, known as immunopathology, which play an important role in influenza and COVID-19 in particular.
During inflammation, some immune cells produce itaconic acid, which has an inhibitory effect on bacteria that survive inside these cells. In addition, researchers have observed for several years that this highly reactive organic molecule dampens important pro-inflammatory signals in the immune system.
In the current study, the doctor and his team at TWINCORE describe the function of itaconic acid during an infection with the influenza virus.
Protection from severe impacts
The scientists observed that itaconic acid is produced in the lung tissue of mice and humans infected with the influenza virus. It protects the animals from the severe effects of the infection.
On the other hand, if the enzyme to make the molecule is missing, the inflammatory response in the lungs is more pronounced and the disease is more likely to be fatal. In the tissues examined, the researchers saw that the synthesis of itaconic acid and the enzyme required for it was associated with a reduction in inflammation.
When the experts treated the mice with itaconic acid as a “medicine” during the influenza infection, the inflammation in the lungs was almost completely absent.
To find out which immune cells are the source of the itaconic acid, the scientists use state-of-the-art single-cell sequencing methods. They discovered that monocytes in human blood, i.e. those cells that can develop into scavenger cells, are infected with the flu virus and then produce itaconic acid.
In addition, monocytes and other immune cells curbed the production of pro-inflammatory factors when itaconic acid was also added externally. “For the first time, we were able to show changes in various pro-inflammatory signaling cascades that itaconic acid causes in the immune system during a flu infection,” says Peßler.
Molecular all-rounder
Monocytes are infected but do not release new virus particles. The researchers made an astonishing observation on body cells that productively reproduce the influenza virus and resemble lung tissue:
“When we infected these cells in the laboratory and treated them with itaconic acid, they produced significantly fewer new virus particles,” explains Peßler. So itaconic acid seems to be a kind of molecular all-rounder that not only has an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effect, but can also inhibit the proliferation of flu viruses.
“All of our findings point in a clear direction: Itaconic acid can slow down the immune response and prevent organ damage without promoting virus replication,” explains Peßler.
The substance is therefore a promising starting point for the development of therapeutic agents. “It could have a beneficial effect on the course of the disease, for example, in people who have a lack of endogenous itaconic acid.”
Together with researchers from the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Peßler now wants to use “intelligent drug design” to optimize itaconic acid-like substances that block virus replication even more efficiently. (ad)
Author and source information
This text corresponds to the requirements of medical specialist literature, medical guidelines and current studies and has been checked by medical professionals.
Swell:
- TWINCORE – Center for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research: Antiviral and anti-inflammatory, (accessed: February 16, 2022), TWINCORE – Center for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research
- Aaqib Sohail, Azeem A. Iqbal, Nishika Sahini, Fangfang Chen, Mohamed Tantawy, Fakhar Waqas, Moritz Winterhoff, Thomas Ebensen, Kristin Schultz, Robert Geffers, Klaus Schughart, Matthias Preusse, Mahmoud Shehata, Heike Bähre, Marina C. Pils, Carlos A. Guzman, Ahmed Mostafa, Stephan Pleschka, Christine Falk, Alessandro Michelucci, Frank Pessler: Itaconate and derivatives reduce interferon responses and inflammation in influenza A virus infection; in: PLOS Pathogens, (veröffentlicht: 13.01.2022), PLOS Pathogens
Important NOTE:
This article contains general advice only and should not be used for self-diagnosis or treatment. He can not substitute a visit at the doctor.