![]() ![]() ![]() This allows the virus to disseminate, and that amplification of virus and vascular leak is what triggers severe disease. “These proteins, independent of viral infection, interact with barrier cells and cause these barriers to malfunction. “We think that a lot of viruses that cause severe disease may encode a viral toxin,” Biering said. In addition to opening new avenues for the treatment of severe COVID-19, understanding how the spike protein contributes to vascular leak could shed light on the pathology behind other emerging infectious diseases. The idea is that it’s able to aid and abet an ongoing infection.”īy examining the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein on human lung and vascular cells, and on the lungs of mice, the research team was able to uncover the molecular pathways that allow the spike protein to disrupt critical internal barriers in the body. “In addition, there’s no evidence that is pathogenic by itself. “The amount of spike protein that you would have in a vaccine would never be able to cause leak,” said study senior author Eva Harris, a professor of infectious diseases and vaccinology at UC Berkeley. In addition, the amount of spike protein circulating in the body after vaccination is far less concentrated than the amounts that have been observed in patients with severe COVID-19 and that were used in the study. ![]() Instead, their study suggests that the spike protein may work in tandem with the virus and the body’s own immune response to trigger life-threatening symptoms. While many vaccine skeptics have stoked fears about potential dangers of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein - which is the target of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines - the researchers say that their work provides no evidence that the spike protein can cause symptoms in the absence of viral infection. “In light of all the different variants that are emerging and the difficulty in preventing infection from each one individually, it might be beneficial to focus on these triggers of pathogenesis in addition to blocking infection altogether.” ![]() “In theory, by specifically targeting this pathway, we could block pathogenesis that leads to vascular disorder and acute respiratory distress syndrome without needing to target the virus itself,” said study lead author Scott Biering, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Berkeley. Blocking the activity of this protein may help prevent some of COVID-19’s deadliest symptoms, including pulmonary edema, which contributes to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The study shows how a portion of the SARS-CoV-2 “spike” protein can damage cell barriers that line the inside of blood vessels within organs of the body, such as the lungs, contributing to what is known as vascular leak. (National Institutes of Health photo via Flickr)Ī study published today in the journal Nature Communications reveals how a viral toxin produced by the SARS-CoV-2 virus may contribute to severe COVID-19 infections. In a new study, University of California, Berkeley, researchers find that portions of the SARS-CoV-2 “spike” protein, shown in the foreground, can damage the cell barriers that line the inside of blood vessels, contributing to some of COVID-19’s most dangerous symptoms, including acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). ![]()
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