University of Virginia School of Medicine scientists have discovered how severe COVID-19 can destroy immune cells’ ability to repair the lungs, helping explain the lingering effects of long COVID. The findings suggest a new treatment approach for long COVID as well as other conditions, both short-term and chronic, caused by respiratory infections such as the flu.
Led by UVA’s Jie Sun, Ph.D., the researchers found that severe viral infections including COVID-19 and the flu can gravely damage a key organelle inside immune cells called macrophages. Macrophages direct lung repair after tissue damage, but their ability to do so is crippled by the loss of the critical organelles, called peroxisomes, Sun and his team found. The findings are published in the journal Science.
Promisingly, the UVA scientists found that they could enhance the damaged organelles’ ability to function—and improve the immune system’s ability to heal lung damage—using a drug that has already been approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration.
“COVID-19 can leave the lungs unable to heal properly by damaging these tiny structures inside our cells. Our discovery is important because it not only explains why some people continue to have breathing problems long after their initial illness but also points us toward a potential treatment to help them recover by targeting a tiny organelle inside critical immune cells,” said Sun, of UVA’s Carter Center for Immunology Research and UVA’s Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health.
“A tiny organelle can have big roles. I hope our work could lead to new peroxisome-centric therapies that can help people suffering from long COVID.”
Understanding long COVID
Peroxisomes are often overlooked and under studied, the researchers note. The organelles are tiny structures known to play vital roles in breaking down toxins and fats within cells. But UVA’s new research suggests that they are also critical to resolving inflammation after severe viral lung infections. As such, they could represent an important avenue for treating acute and chronic conditions that follow those infections.
Sun and his collaborators found that severe COVID infections “drastically” alter peroxisomes inside macrophages, they report in a new scientific paper. This dramatic “remodeling” inhibited peroxisome development and caused them to degrade, robbing them of their ability to function properly. The result was stubborn inflammation and lung scarring. The scientists found persistent peroxisome impairment in both lab mice and human patients after severe COVID-19 infections.
They were able to reverse that impairment in early testing, however, using sodium phenylbutyrate, a drug already approved by the FDA to treat patients with high levels of ammonia in their blood. More research is needed before the drug could be deployed for treating long COVID, but the scientists say their findings warrant additional study.
Further, the discovery of the peroxisomes’ role in controlling inflammation and in repairing alveola (air sacs) in the lungs suggests that targeting them could be useful for treating stubborn post-infection problems caused by influenza and other respiratory viruses, Sun says.
“We are collaborating with scientists and physicians at UVA and other institutions to understand the exact function of this understudied organelle in long COVID and other chronic lung diseases such as interstitial lung disease [ILD],” he said. “Ultimately, we want to develop peroxisome-targeting therapies to give patients the chance to breathe more easily again and get back to their normal lives.”
The research team consisted of Xiaoqin Wei, Wei Qian, Harish Narasimhan, Ting Chan, Xue Liu, Mohd Arish, Samuel Young, Chaofan Li, In Su Cheon, Jane Qing Yu, Gislane de Almeida Santos, Xiao-Yu Zhao, Eric V. Yeatts, Olivia J. Spear, Megan Yi, Tanyalak Parimon, Yinshan Fang, Young S Hahn, Timothy N.J. Bullock, Lindsay A. Somerville, Mark H. Kaplan, Anne I. Sperling, Yun Michael Shim, Robert Vassallo, Peter Chen, Sarah E. Ewald, Anja C. Roden, Jianwen Que, Dianhua Jiang and Sun.
More information:
Xiaoqin Wei et al, Macrophage peroxisomes guide alveolar regeneration and limit SARS-CoV-2 tissue sequelae, Science (2025). DOI: 10.1126/science.adq2509
Citation:
COVID-19 discovery opens door to new treatments for chronic lung problems (2025, March 13)
retrieved 13 March 2025
from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-03-covid-discovery-door-treatments-chronic.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
University of Virginia School of Medicine scientists have discovered how severe COVID-19 can destroy immune cells’ ability to repair the lungs, helping explain the lingering effects of long COVID. The findings suggest a new treatment approach for long COVID as well as other conditions, both short-term and chronic, caused by respiratory infections such as the flu. Led by UVA’s Jie Sun, Ph.D., the researchers found that severe viral infections including COVID-19 and the flu can gravely damage a key organelle inside immune cells called macrophages. Macrophages direct lung repair after tissue damage, but their ability to do so is crippled by the loss of the critical organelles, called peroxisomes, Sun and his team found. The findings are published in the journal Science. Promisingly, the UVA scientists found that they could enhance the damaged organelles’ ability to function—and improve the immune system’s ability to heal lung damage—using a drug that has already been approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration. “COVID-19 can leave the lungs unable to heal properly by damaging these tiny structures inside our cells. Our discovery is important because it not only explains why some people continue to have breathing problems long after their initial illness but also points us toward a potential treatment to help them recover by targeting a tiny organelle inside critical immune cells,” said Sun, of UVA’s Carter Center for Immunology Research and UVA’s Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health. “A tiny organelle can have big roles. I hope our work could lead to new peroxisome-centric therapies that can help people suffering from long COVID.” Peroxisomes are often overlooked and under studied, the researchers note. The organelles are tiny structures known to play vital roles in breaking down toxins and fats within cells. But UVA’s new research suggests that they are also critical to resolving inflammation after severe viral lung infections. As such, they could represent an important avenue for treating acute and chronic conditions that follow those infections. Sun and his collaborators found that severe COVID infections “drastically” alter peroxisomes inside macrophages, they report in a new scientific paper. This dramatic “remodeling” inhibited peroxisome development and caused them to degrade, robbing them of their ability to function properly. The result was stubborn inflammation and lung scarring. The scientists found persistent peroxisome impairment in both lab mice and human patients after severe COVID-19 infections. They were able to reverse that impairment in early testing, however, using sodium phenylbutyrate, a drug already approved by the FDA to treat patients with high levels of ammonia in their blood. More research is needed before the drug could be deployed for treating long COVID, but the scientists say their findings warrant additional study. Further, the discovery of the peroxisomes’ role in controlling inflammation and in repairing alveola (air sacs) in the lungs suggests that targeting them could be useful for treating stubborn post-infection problems caused by influenza and other respiratory viruses, Sun says. “We are collaborating with scientists and physicians at UVA and other institutions to understand the exact function of this understudied organelle in long COVID and other chronic lung diseases such as interstitial lung disease [ILD],” he said. “Ultimately, we want to develop peroxisome-targeting therapies to give patients the chance to breathe more easily again and get back to their normal lives.” The research team consisted of Xiaoqin Wei, Wei Qian, Harish Narasimhan, Ting Chan, Xue Liu, Mohd Arish, Samuel Young, Chaofan Li, In Su Cheon, Jane Qing Yu, Gislane de Almeida Santos, Xiao-Yu Zhao, Eric V. Yeatts, Olivia J. Spear, Megan Yi, Tanyalak Parimon, Yinshan Fang, Young S Hahn, Timothy N.J. Bullock, Lindsay A. Somerville, Mark H. Kaplan, Anne I. Sperling, Yun Michael Shim, Robert Vassallo, Peter Chen, Sarah E. Ewald, Anja C. Roden, Jianwen Que, Dianhua Jiang and Sun. More information: Citation: This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
Understanding long COVID
Xiaoqin Wei et al, Macrophage peroxisomes guide alveolar regeneration and limit SARS-CoV-2 tissue sequelae, Science (2025). DOI: 10.1126/science.adq2509
COVID-19 discovery opens door to new treatments for chronic lung problems (2025, March 13)
retrieved 13 March 2025
from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-03-covid-discovery-door-treatments-chronic.html
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
