nature: #Humans can #fight off #viruses simply by #breathing: How hard is it for people. . .

nature: #Humans can #fight off #viruses simply by #breathing: How hard is it for people to fight off a #virus? It’s actually as #easy as #breathing, literally: say #Scientists at Harvard University: https://lnkd.in/eFxti3y3. Their #study reveals that the act of #breathing generates #immune #responses that kill invading #pathogens: nature communication journal study findings in StudyFinds: https://lnkd.in/e6BZN52G: In experiments, a “ #lung #chip ” that mimics the #mechanical #forces of #breathing killed #flu #bugs. “This research demonstrates the #importance of #breathing #motions for #human #lung #function, including #immune #responses to #infection, and shows that our #Human #Alveolus #Chip can be used to #model these responses in the deep portions of the lung, where #infections are often more severe and lead to #hospitalization and #death,” says co-first author Dr. Haiqing Bai from Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering: https://lnkd.in/e-BFrfWn : “This #model can also be used for #preclinical #drug #testing to ensure that candidate drugs actually reduce #infection and #inflammation in functional #human #lung #tissue.” The results are published in the Nature Communications journal: #ControlDoctrine #WhySystemsFail #Breathwalking #ImmuneSystem #Mechanical #control of #innate #immune #responses against #viral #infection revealed in a #human #lung #alveolus #chip: "Mechanical breathing motions have a fundamental function in #lung #development and #disease, but little is known about how they contribute to host #innate #immunity. Here we use a human lung alveolus chip that experiences cyclic breathing-like deformations to investigate whether physical forces influence innate immune responses to viral infection. #Influenza #H3N2 infection of mechanically active chips induces a cascade of host responses including increased #lung #permeability, #apoptosis, #cell #regeneration, #cytokines #production, and recruitment of circulating immune cells. Comparison with static chips reveals that #breathing #motions #suppress #viral #replication by #activating #protective #innate #immune #responses in #epithelial and #endothelial #cells, which are mediated in part through activation of the mechanosensitive ion channel #TRPV4 and signaling via receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE). RAGE inhibitors suppress #cytokines #induction, while TRPV4 inhibition attenuates both #inflammation and #viral burden, in infected chips with breathing motions. Therefore, TRPV4 and RAGE may serve as new targets for #therapeutic #intervention in #patients infected with #influenza and other potential #pandemic #viruses that cause #life-#threatening #lung #inflammation." #nature #communications: 08 April 2022: Mechanical control of innate immune responses against viral infection revealed in a human lung alveolus chip: https://lnkd.in/eFxti3y3 Global Risk Management Network LLC: Silicon Valley-Wall Street-Pentagon-Global Digital CEOs Networks