Erythrocytes Induce Vascular Dysfunction in COVID-19

Current knowledge regarding mechanisms underlying cardiovascular complications in patients with COVID-19 is limited and urgently needed. We shed light on a previously unrecognized mechanism and unravel a key role of red blood cells, driving vascular dysfunction in patients with COVID-19 infection. We establish the presence of profound and persistent endothelial dysfunction in vivo in patients with COVID-19. Mechanistically, we show that targeting reactive oxygen species or arginase 1 improves vascular dysfunction mediated by red blood cells. These translational observations hold promise that restoring the redox balance in red blood cells might alleviate the clinical complications of COVID-19-associated vascular dysfunction. (c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier on behalf of the American College of Cardiology Foundation. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

The mechanisms underlying cardiovascular complications in COVID-19 patients are not well understood. This study reveals the key role of red blood cells in driving vascular dysfunction in COVID-19 patients. Targeting reactive oxygen species or arginase 1 improves vascular dysfunction mediated by red blood cells, suggesting a potential treatment strategy for COVID-19-associated vascular complications.