[ad_1]
LUBBOCK, Texas – For some patients with COVID-19, recovering from their infection is only the beginning of a cure. Over the past year, “long haul” COVIDs have continued to experience a variety of symptoms months after the virus has subsided. These include everything from skin problems and shortness of breath, to loss of taste or smell. Now the researchers say they may know why this is happening. A new study finds that the coronavirus actually causes long-term changes in the genes of an infected patient.
Specifically, scientists reveal that the spike protein from SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, creates lasting changes in the expression of human genes. These tiny spikes cover the surface of coronavirus cells. They allow the virus to bind to certain receptors in human cells and hijack their functions, resulting in COVID infection. Once the tip enters a patient’s cells, the virus releases its own genetic material into the cell so that it can replicate.
“We found that exposure to the single peak protein from SARS-CoV-2 was sufficient to alter basic gene expression in airway cells,” says Nicholas Evans, master’s student at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, in a press release. “This suggests that the symptoms seen in patients may initially result from the direct interaction of the spike protein with cells.”
Spikes modify human lung cells in the long term
Researchers examined how exposure to spike proteins affects cultured human airway cells in laboratory experiments. They also compared the results to studies using cell samples from real patients with COVID-19.
The team notes that growing cells from the human airways requires time and specific conditions that help cells mature. This allows the cells in the lab to develop into different cells living in a real human airway. To do this, the study authors refined a culture technique called the air-liquid interface so that they could more closely simulate conditions in the lungs of a real patient.
After cultivation, the scientists exposed the cells to high and low concentrations of purified spike protein. The results reveal differences in gene expression that remained in the cells even after the infection had passed. The genes most affected are those that control the body’s inflammatory response.
“Our work is helping to elucidate changes occurring in patients at the genetic level, which could potentially provide insight into which treatments would work best for specific patients,” says Evans.
The study authors now plan to use this approach to examine the duration of these genetic changes. They also hope to reveal the other long-term consequences of a COVID infection on a patient’s health.
The team presents its results at Experimental Biology (EB) 2021, a virtual meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
[ad_2]
Source link