According to a new study, through deep breathing it is possible to stimulate the immune system, which activates a response against inflammation, flu and even against Covid-19.
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On average a person does more than 600 million breaths throughout his life. Each breath stretches the tissues of the lungs with each inhalation, and relaxes them with each exhalation.
New research from Harvard University's Wyss Institute has revealed that this constant pattern of stretching and relaxation generates immune responses against invading viruses, such as Covid-19.
(Read also: The 5-minute breathing exercise that lowers blood pressure more than walking, the study )
A systematic review
Using a "human lung chip" that replicates the structures and functions of the lung air sac, or alveolus, the research team found that by applying mechanical forces that mimic respiratory movements, replication of the lung could be suppressed. flu virus, while activating an innate protective immune system.
This research demonstrates the importance of respiratory movements for lung function, including immune responses to infections, and shows that our human alveolus can be used to model these responses in the deepest portions of the lung, where infections are often more severe.
As the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic made painfully clear, the lung is a vulnerable organ in which inflammation, in response to infection, can generate a "storm of cytokines”Which can have very serious consequences.
However, the lungs are also very complex and it is difficult to replicate their unique characteristics in the laboratory.
This complexity has hindered science's understanding of how they function at the level of cells and tissues, in both healthy and diseased individuals.
Previous studies had confirmed that mimicking respiratory movements produces biological responses.
When the team infected the "breathing" Alveolus chips with the H3N2 flu by introducing the virus into the air channel, they observed the development of several known hallmarks of the flu infection, including breaking the junctions between cells, an increase 25% of cell death, and the initiation of cell repair programs.
The infection has also resulted in much higher levels of multiple inflammatory cytokines in the blood vessel channel, including type III interferon, a natural defense against viral infection that is also activated in in vivo influenza infection studies.
These results confirmed that the Alveolus Chip was implementing an immune response against H3N2, summarizing what happens in the lungs of human patients infected with the influenza virus.
The team then performed the same experiment without mechanical breathing movements. To their surprise, the chips exposed to respiratory movements had 50% less viral mRNA in their alveolar channels, and a significant reduction in inflammatory cytokine levels compared to the static chips.
Genetic analysis revealed that the mechanical strain had activated molecular pathways related to immune defense and multiple antiviral genes, and these activations were reversed when respiratory movement was stopped.
Scientists stated:
This was our most unexpected finding: that mechanical stresses alone can generate an innate immune response in the lung.
So, despite the need for more research and analysis, scientists have been able to see that through one deep breathing it can protect our body from infections.
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Photos: Nature
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