Can really “catch a cold”? Strictly speaking no, but temperatures act on our immune system.
Earlier this week, the review Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology relayed the results of an American study.
She describes in detail how low temperatures attack our immune system, making us more vulnerable to winter illnesses.
“Catching Cold”: An Unpublished Explanation
According to Stanford University rhinologist Zara Patel, “This is the first time we have a biological and molecular explanation for a factor in our innate immune response that appears to be limited by lower temperatures”.
Thus, according to this study, a drop in temperature of 5 degrees inside the nose would kill almost 50% of the cells that fight against virus and bacteria in the nasal cavity.
Extracellular vesicles
Concretely ? When a virus ventures into our noses, nasal cells release countless extracellular vesicles (EVs), which form a cloud of tiny particles that attack intruders upon inhalation.
Bacteria and viruses attach themselves to these very sticky vesicles before being expelled by the nasal mucus. The study adds that the nose is a formidable weapon. Indeed, it multiplies the production of these EVs by 160% when attacked. It incorporates a virus killer, micro RNA, 13 times more present than in the rest of the body.
And when the temperatures drop?
When the nasal cells are found in an environment at 4°C, more than 40% of the extracellular vesicles are destroyed. In fact, we are less able to defend ourselves against bacteria and viruses.
The following ? Mansoor Amiji, lead author of the study, summarizes: “It is an area of research which interests us enormously, and we will undoubtedly continue on this path”. Because treatments stimulating the production of these EVs would make it possible to fight more effectively many maladiesincluding Covid.