José Antonio Rodríguez Piedrabuena -- How does our body defend itself against COVID-19?

When a pathogen enters, the liver is part of the army to eliminate it. It speeds up its metabolism by increasing the production of proteins, in this case, acute phase proteins and C-reactive protein, which will be in every cell membrane in the body, coating viral particles to make them targets for attack by giant lymphocytes: macrophages.

When the fight against the virus begins with the rest of the defence forces, the liver's production decreases. Therefore, as an index of severity, patients in hospitals are measured for the level of C-reactive protein.

The cells of the immune system are generated in the bone marrow, and from there go to the thymus, spleen, lymph nodes and lymphoid tissues residing in all mucous membranes where they mature into mature forms. We have attack forces deployed throughout the body in the form of cells and substances that are lethal to intruders.

As soon as we are stung by a wasp, a swelling occurs, without any hesitation or waiting. A primitive defence system common to all living beings, as purely archaic as it is, has acted: innate immunity. Swelling has occurred and cytokines and histamine have arrived almost immediately, dilating the arterioles, and all the other components of the inflammatory reaction produced by the innate defence system.

We have a stable, fixed or patrolling praetorian guard, waiting for enemies such as bacteria, old cells, cancer cells, viruses, toxins, and everything that is not recognised as belonging to the body, which will be swallowed up and digested.

Also to be included are leukocytes that patrol continuously, and others that are stationary, some are phagocytes, which swallow, envelop and enzymatically digest viruses or place fragments of viruses on their surface as a signal for attack by others, as well as producing the famous cytokines. It is worth mentioning that we have one trillion lymphocytes at all times.

This standing army includes some molecules in the fluid between cells, to which substances emitted by pathogens bind. All these signals attract leukocytes. At the forefront of the standing army between the tissues are large cells - macrophages - with the ability to engulf and attack them with enzymes, such as superoxide. These leave their production centre in the bone marrow, called monocytes, and when they reach the tissues they grow and transform into the dreaded macrophages. They attack the virus by enveloping it, locking it inside their structures - lysosomes and lysosomes - which are loaded with enzymes - up to twenty of them - that destroy the virus' proteins. The remaining fragments are placed in its outer membrane with the help of those proteins that were on guard, between the tissues with destructive capacities of their own, called complement proteins, which together with these fragments remain on the surface as signals to the lymphocytes that will initiate the final attack, some antibodies will join this lethal protein complex..  Synthesised in the liver, in the epithelia and one of them in fat cells, adipocytes. They are on "guard", on patrol, only becoming active when the battle begins. This whole army may have worked for asymptomatic patients, but the battle is not over and there may be relapses.

All this means that good defences require a good liver, healthy epithelia and adipocytes that are not too full of fat. This is why obese people have little defence against COVID-19.. With these conditions of good health, we are better able to defend ourselves against the virus. Those who smoke and drink too much or have a bad liver, those who are very overweight and people who generally have a bad epithelium, such as hypertensives and diabetics, or those who are very old, and those who do not exercise, will find it very difficult to defend themselves against the virus..

This battle involves leukocytes - white blood cells - lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils, which engulf the virus by phagocytosis, a process that involves engulfing the virus and attacking it in a chemical war. Eosinophils and basophils will deploy the toxic granules inside them, with their great destructive power. Earlier we mentioned the larger one that attacks the virus and leaves debris on its membrane to attract lymphocytes. And so begins the teamwork of the different types of lymphocytes. At the signal placed on the surface of their membrane, the macrophages, the facilitator lymphocytes take note and then activate their siblings called T-lymphocytes, which in turn induce the natural killer lymphocytes for direct attack, and the B-lymphocytes, which attack by means of antibodies - similar to immunoglobulins - destroying the structures of the virus or blocking its entry.

But there may be too many of these or others, so siblings called regulatory lymphocytes are responsible for limiting their numbers, and those that remain can use their cytotoxic arsenal. It is noteworthy that during the pandemic there is a drop in the number of lymphocytes, probably as a sign of mortality in combat.

T-lymphocytes are so called because they are produced in the skeletal system and are directed to the thymus, which is the centre of their maturation and training so that they do not attack the body's own cells, as happens in autoimmune diseases, where this process has failed. During this confinement they are tested and trained not to initiate an attack on the body itself, and then released into battle.

The thymus is regulated by the brain from part of the emotional system: the amygdala from the hypothalamus, and a control coming from the sympathetic system. This has to do with what we observe in some people after a period of great stress this type of disease appears. And, above all, it is a sign of the influence of our emotions on the state of our immune defences.

B lymphocytes are so called because they are activated in the spleen and lymph nodes. There are nine types of B-lymphocytes, which do not attack directly but by means of immunoglobulins - commonly called antibodies. They produce suppressor antibodies that destroy the structures of the virus and interpose themselves between the virus and the cells, blocking its passage. These antibodies make a good vaccine. And, we can use them extracted from the serum of those who have won the battle against the virus.

They not only attack, but also activate those proteins that are on all the outer faces of cell membranes, those of complement which activate the various cellular defence responses by activating the receptors - inputs - for antibodies.

Immunoglobulins or antibodies are what we measure with tests after being infested. They are produced by B cells, but have been transformed into so-called plasma cells that are larger and better armed.

Immunoglobulins such as IgG, which are already present in intrauterine life, IgA, which mark viruses so that they can be phagocytosed and digested, and IgM, which activate those proteins we have mentioned as complement proteins, are the early response, which is why they are sought after if the virus attack has occurred. It has not been demonstrated that one or the other has anything to do with the severity of the infection, as there is great variability between individuals in this battle.

Let's see how we remedy this automatic system with supplements or miracle diets.

Virus begins to enter cells

It has to do so from an entry, at a gateway or receptor that is in all epithelia, the ACE2, therefore, its symptoms can be as different as the entries that it has managed to penetrate easily into the pulmonary alveoli. We can say that, due to its dissemination, it would be a disease of the endothelia. I have talked about them in the previous article.

We were expecting, for viruses and bacteria, a system of 30 proteins in the serum, in an inactive form, that as soon as the virus has entered the cells, the lymphocytes trigger an enzymatic cascade, a complex attack on the membrane of the bacteria and through perforins form giant pores in it, so that enzymes can enter, which are sent by the lymphocytes that are already here, they have come to the call of the macrophages. Water enters these pores, as well as ions that break down their structure.

Viruses can be neutralised by antibodies.

With respect to antibodies and antibody-based vaccines, two neutralising antibodies bind to the glycoprotein peak of the virus (seen as sharp protrusions on their rounded bodies). by blocking its ability to bind to the human ACE2 receptor and mediate viral entry into host cells. It is the receptor that angiotensin I uses to convert to form II and raise blood pressure. It is in all tissues, which is why there can be symptoms in any organ, even the brain and peripheral nervous system, because that is where its attack can reach.

This feature also means that if one of the viral epitopes - portions of the viral surface spine - mutates in a way that prevents the binding of one of the two antibodies (a phenomenon known as immune escape), the other antibody can still retain its neutralising activity. The combination of these two can neutralise the entry of the virus into cells and function as a vaccine.

If you have been cured of the virus, memory cells will be produced that will recognise the intruder and organise the battle when it returns again. We already have active immunity.

As you can see, the immune system is too complex to be boosted by certain diets. All antibodies are proteins, so we can say that a low-protein diet would work against it, but the trillions of blood cells involved need 50 nutrients for their production and maintenance, and only through the Mediterranean diet can we ingest them. On the other hand, we have seen the sympathetic activating system act and the emotional system intervene on the centre of lymphocyte maturation and training, the thymus. Poorly managed old age and poorly or not at all cared for diet, lack of exercise and human relationships, hypertension, obesity and, in particular, smoking seem to give the virus every chance.

This text may be reproduced provided that PROA Comunicación is credited as the original source.