The S1 protein potentially releases inflammatory products that cause storm surges in the brain, the researchers said. Credit: Alice Gray
A study published in Nature Neuroscience Shows how the spike protein crosses the blood-brain barrier.
People with whom more and more evidence is coming out COVID-19 The brain suffers from cognitive effects such as fog and fatigue.
And why are researchers looking. This SARS-CoV-2 The virus, like many of its predecessors, is bad news for the brain. In a study published on December 16, 2020, in Nature NeuroscienceThe researchers found that the spike protein, always shown as the red arm of the virus, could cross the blood-brain barrier in mice.
This strongly suggests that the cause of CORVS-19 may be SARS-COVI-2 entering the brain.
Spike proteins, often called S1 proteins, indicate which cells the virus can enter. In general, the virus works just as well as its binding proteins, says lead author William A. Banks said the professor of medicine And Washington Washington University School of Medicine Medicine and Puget Sound Veterans Affairs Healthcare System Physician and Researcher. Banks said binding proteins such as S1 usually harm themselves because they separate from the virus and cause inflammation.
“The S1 protein probably releases cytokines and inflammatory products to the brain,” he said.
In scientific circles, the acute inflammation caused by COVID-19 infection is called cytokine storm. The immune system, by looking at the virus and its proteins, exerts an overwhelming influence in trying to kill the invading virus. The infected person is left with brain fog, fatigue and other cognitive issues.
Banks and his team saw this reaction with the HIV virus and would like to see if this happened with SARS CoV-2.
Banks said SARS-CoV2 contains S1 protein and HIV-1 contains GP. 120 proteins function similarly. They are glycoproteins – proteins that contain a lot of sugars, the mark of a protein that binds to other receptors. Both of these proteins capture other receptors and act as arm and arm for their viruses. Crossing both the blood-brain barrier and S1, such as GP20, has toxic potential in brain tissue.
Banks said they have done extensive work on HIV-1, GP20, and blood-brain barrier.
Banks’ lab studies blood-brain barriers Alzheimer’s, Obesity, diabetes and HIV. But they stopped their work and all 15 people in the lab began their experiments on the S1 protein in April. They listed Jacob Reber, a professor and longtime associate in the Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Neurology and Radiation Medicine at the University of Oregon Health and Science.
This study could explain many of the complications from COVID-19.
“We know that when you have a COVID infection you have trouble breathing and that is because you have an infection in your lungs, but an additional explanation is that the virus enters the respiratory centers of the brain and causes problems there as well.”
Raber said that in his experiments the transport of S1 was faster in the olfactory bulbs and kidneys of men than in women. This observation may be related to the increased sensitivity of men to more severe COVID-19 outcomes.
People take the virus lightly, banks have a message:
“You don’t want to mess with this virus,” he said. “Many of the effects of the covid virus can be caused by the virus entering the brain, or it can be persistent, or the effects can last a very long time.”
Reference: Elizabeth M. Rhea, Eric F. Logsden, Kim m. Hansen, Lindsay m. Williams, May J. “The S1 protein of SARS-CoV-2 crosses the blood-brain barrier in rats,” by Reed, Kristen K. Bowman, Sarah J. Holden, Jacob Reber, William a. Banks and Mitchell a. Ericsson, 16 December 2020, Nature Neuroscience.
DOI: 10.1038 / s41593-020-00771-8
The study was partially endorsed by the National Institute on Old-Funded COVID-19 Supplement for RF1 Grants shared by banks and RABER.
