Scientists at Duke University have been studying how other mammals like bats are seemingly unaffected by Coronaviruses (including SARS-COV).
When infected by the same viruses that lands humans in the ICU on a ventilator, bats mount an early and robust initial immune response but don’t have the ongoing, exaggerated, pro-inflammatory response that’s often fatal to us.
Translation: bats have a unique way to throttle down their immunity gas-pedal after an initial burst.
In humans with severe COVID-19 illness, the characteristic cytokine storm (exaggerated, pro-inflammatory response) is thought to be the driving factor behind respiratory and organ failure leading to poor outcomes and non-survival.
Here’s two reasons why should you care about this animal research:
- The immunological switch bats use to tame their inflammation is the NRLP3 inflammasome. This might sound familiar to you as ketones (BHB) have been shown to inhibit this signaling up.
- The interferon response (the early initial immune burst that may help bats) is reduced in those with nutrient deficiencies (namely vitamin A and D) and in type II diabetes. [This is one of the reasons behind the recent push for vitamin A and D.]
P.S. I’m in now way suggesting the ketogenic diet or ketones are a cure or therapy for COVID-19, but wanted to use this as a teaching moment to help you better understand how your diet affects ongoing, chronic inflammation.
References:
Banerjee A, Baker ML, Kulcsar K, Misra V, Plowright R, Mossman K. Novel Insights Into Immune Systems of Bats. Front Immunol. 2020;11:307-315. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2020.00026.
Bowman TA, Goonewardene IM, Pasatiempo AMG, Ross AC, Taylor CE. Vitamin A Deficiency Decreases Natural Killer Cell Activity and Interferon Production in Rats. J Nutr. 1990;120(10):1264-1273. doi:10.1093/jn/120.10.1264.
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