Home » Acute hepatitis in children, already 450 cases in Europe. And a (convincing) hypothesis on the Lancet

Acute hepatitis in children, already 450 cases in Europe. And a (convincing) hypothesis on the Lancet

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Acute hepatitis in children, already 450 cases in Europe.  And a (convincing) hypothesis on the Lancet

The reports in Europe and in the rest of the world of acute pediatric hepatitis continue, which at the moment have exceeded 450. Unfortunately for now we do not know what causes them, but a hypothesis is beginning to make its way and seems to have solid foundations.

After excluding the most obvious and obvious causes of hepatitis (hepatitis viruses, contaminations, intoxications), international researchers have focused their attention on two viruses: Sars-CoV2 and Adenovirus. The first because of its very wide diffusion also in the pediatric population and the second because it was often present in the blood of hospitalized children.

Sars-CoV2 infection can in rare cases also affect the liver and cause systemic inflammation, while Adenovirus is a virus that attacks the gastrointestinal tract and can cause rare hepatitis only in immunosuppressed patients. The new hypothesis predicts that both suspects play a role in the genesis of acute pediatric hepatitis.

Acute hepatitis in children, the adenovirus genome will give us the answers

by Elvira Naselli

April 28, 2022

A new hypothesis

Two American doctors and researchers specializing in pediatric immunology have made several observations about Sars-CoV2 and about Adenoviruses, constructing what is currently one of the most robust hypotheses to explain the increase in pediatric hepatitis.

According to the two researchers, many children were infected more or less symptomatically by Sars-CoV2 which contains a potential superantigenic sequence, that is, one of its proteins contains a superantigen.

What is meant by superantigen? By superantigen we mean a protein or part of it that is recognized by our immune system in an exaggerated and disproportionate way. A known superantigen is that of the Staphylococcus Aureus exotoxin.

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Covid hides in the body

Furthermore, in children, a mechanism of permanence of Sars-CoV2 within their body has been observed, specifically the Sars-CoV2 can remain latent in the intestine (intestinal viral permanence) of children whose immune system is not efficient enough to ‘ cleanse the body of the virus.

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L’Adenovirus

Finally, the Adenovirus infection is able to ‘sensitize’ our immune system towards superantigens. In practice, Adenovirus infection can exacerbate the immune reaction against the superantigen ultimately causing acute hepatitis.

Let’s try to put all the elements together and understand the logic of the hypothesis:

  1. Children infected with Sars-CoV2 have no protection as they are not vaccinated and still have an ‘immature’ immune system
  2. Sars-CoV2 has proteins that potentially contain a superantigen
  3. In children, permanent infections have been observed where the virus has remained in the intestine for a long time
  4. Adenovirus infections, very common in children, can trigger the exaggerated immune response and therefore hepatitis

In other words, we imagine that Sars-CoV2 is extremely flammable (superantigen) and that due to its long stay in our body (intestinal viral persistence) it accumulates in our body, we finally imagine that the Adenovirus infection acts as a match and that you start the fire.

Researchers are currently suggesting experiments and tests to confirm or invalidate their hypothesis. If this hypothesis were to be confirmed then the need for an anti Covid19 vaccine for the pediatric range would become a priority as vaccination could greatly reduce the risk of acute hepatitis.

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REF:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langas/article/PIIS2468-1253(22)00166-2/fulltext

https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S1074-7613%2822%2900043-7

https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/IAI.73.6.3375-3384.2005

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