Bengaluru, Mar 28: Sun Tsu, in 'The Art of War' speaks of a skilful general who can subdue his enemy without any fighting. This constitutes the ultimate triumph which is referred to as stratagem. Today, we would need one such when we are faced with the '21-day corona challenge' for India.
Nearly four weeks back, Dr Jyothsna Rao, Dr Gururaj Rao and I sat across the OPD in the afternoon at HCG Bengaluru discussing our ongoing cancer immunology research. While on this topic, we drifted into the discussion on the coronavirus. During this engaging discussion, we wondered the similarity of the enigma between the virus and cancer. I paused to ask Dr Jyothsna and Dr Guru - how we wish we could do something against this virus.
Dr Jyothsna is a PhD from NCBS and had worked under Dr Ralph Steinman, physician and researcher from Rockefeller University, who won the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the dendritic cell and its role in adaptive immunity in 2011. Dr Gururaj is a molecular and cell biologist who did his PhD at the Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina and is the Director of iCrest.
Jyothsna while hearing our perplexing conversation on the covid intervened, "Yes, surely. I think we should take a break from cancer and focus on the innate and adaptive immunity role in COVID-19."
Thus began this sincere attempt to relook the human immune system from the eyes of the COVID-19.
We have 10 types of immune cells at the least which are widely dispersed in millions across the body. When our body is invaded by a foreign organism (bacteria, fungi or virus), these cells work with each other to destroy the invader.
Now, the question is - how do the immune cells talk to each other? They use small-molecule substances called cytokines (cyto means cells; kine means movement). There are many cytokines that are involved in work on the immune system. The most relevant for viruses are interferons.
Interferons (IFN) as the name reflects have an ability to interfere with the viral activity and stop their multiplication. These specialised signal proteins are released by our cells in response to a viral attack to forewarn other cells. They help build the antiviral proteins within the cells to kill the virus as it tries to invade the new cells.
Historically, interferons are a group of cytokines known to be potent antiviral agents against viruses and a hallmark cytokine induced by the host upon viral infections. Interferons possess unique immunoregulatory activities and are signature cytokines released by (TH1) T immune cells, which are crucial in viral infections.
As the outbreak of COVID-19 grapples us, an urgent need for finding strategies to combat the virus is growing. Coronaviruses (CoVs) are a group of RNA viruses. In patients infected with coronavirus, it was indicated that the activation of the IFN does not occur until 48 hours post-infection. Thus the delayed IFN-related antiviral response by the healthy cells leads to coronavirus evade the immune response.
Numerous studies have presented the success in defeating CoVs by the direct administration of IFNs. In a combination as a concoction, it was shown to synergistically inhibit the virus replication in vitro.
Moreover, it is understood that the earlier induction of IFNs in children although they have a less developed immune system could be the reason behind the children being least affected.
The key to success in reducing the disease fatality might be the stimulation of the immune responses to trigger IFN production at the very early stages of the disease, which might be done through the administration of IFN. Despite the evidence for the efficacy of IFNs in treating CoV-induced infections, the proper dosing and ideal timing for such interventions needs to be verified in clinical trials.
For the later stages of the diseases in advance stages where patients are on ventilator and have developed respiratory distress, we propose to utilise the mesenchymal cells derived from donor bone marrow that have been known to treat acute respiratory syndrome. Mesenchymal cells are known to possess anti-inflammatory activity and thus used often in autoimmune diseases.
With this scientific background, we have activated T cells from healthy donors, in a cGMP facility at iCrest - HCG hospital with an enriched cocktail of cytokines rich in Interferons. Injections of this cocktail we believe will result in a surge of cytokines in the body of the infected person and will boost his ability to fight the virus in the early phases. We are in the initial phases of this study and hope to be ready in the coming weeks with meaningful data on its potential utility.
Currently, it awaits government approvals (Union and state) and we have applied to central drugs authority for their initial evaluation and further directions.
As my Guru often expounded the philosophy of 'Seva' - the goal of education is knowledge, the end goal of knowledge is service. In this attempt to serve our fellow humans at this brink of unprecedented crisis, medical fraternity stands with you and promises to do our best for your safety.
We assure to exhaust every bit of our spirit in this fight against coronavirus. We have lost the sight of shores and travelled thus far, but that is the mandatory first step to cross the ocean. Are we going to succeed in this battle, is something only time will answer.
Comments
LOL...kuchbee, he is the biggest shit of india..GOD is pure, mercfull & good, this man try to show off that he is with hindus, becarful my dear hindu brother he may change his mind based on the situation. like this people are called marons of 21st century.
words cannot express for this man s. statement , he was dreaming in the daylight
Sita came to his dream and she might have told that Rama is fedup of the Jungle life now he need one place to settle down and to have good rest in his rest of the life.
About Shias all are have one openion that shias not considered as Muslims they are another part of Kuffars.
Why this guy is playing with the sentiments of Hindu Brothers, Although i am a Muslim but we should respect other religions too and their sentiments. When More then 100 crores of our hindu brother and sisters pray him and he is so powerfull then why lord Ram will come in his dreams. May be time or place is not perfect for him to stay on that perticular place. if lord Ram would wish he can accept prayers of crores of peoples and settle the matter.
cant expect worse than this from a bhakt.
chacha....fear Allah before its too late
First of all, does the God cry. If he is crying he can not be God.
The one and only true God will never come in dream and will not cry.
The real God is never be seen NOR imaginable to anyone.
This is the attribution of Ture God.
Let us say for the sake of argument, he has dreamed. It does not mean it is credible dream.
The dreams are 2types True dream and fake Shaytani dream.
About this man who is controversial already in the past, has always been trying to get the mercy of Hindus. He wants to be closure with them.
He is selling his Islamic values of true belief for worldly gains. He is Munafiq
God knows how Shiyas have selected him to be their head of waqf board.
This is the true picture of Shiyas. No basic knowledge of Thoheed/ Oneness.
May God guide them.
I think this is the chamatkar of desi brand. If you start drinking foreign brand before going to bed Lord Jesus also may visit you soon!
Please give a bit more explanation about the divine-human encounter. Rama was alone or Sita was also there with him? Did he go soon after expressing his sadness before you or he also had food with you before leaving?
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