Credit: University of Missouri
Key points:
- Researchers identified a protein that is targeted by the SARS-CoV-2 virus to maximize its spread.
- Once the protein is damaged in a single cell, the virus quickly replicates and spreads.
- The discovery could lead to the development of new antiviral drugs.
Researchers at the University of Missouri have identified a specific protein inside the human body that plays a critical role in how SARS-CoV-2 spreads from cell to cell after infection. Although the virus has waned to an endemic level, the discovery could lead to the development of new antiviral drugs in the case of future infection.
“This basic, scientific research is very important to better understand the underlying mechanisms of disease progression inside the body’s cells so that the proper countermeasures can be identified and developed,” said lead author Wenjun Ma, an associate professor in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine and the MU School of Medicine.
In the new study, published in PNAS, researchers used imaging techniques to examine how the coronavirus spreads throughout cells by analyzing cell samples. They found that when the occludin protein in a single cell is damaged by the coronavirus, the virus is able to quickly replicate and spread to neighboring cells throughout the body, making the infection worse and symptoms potentially more severe.
“For example, if only one cell in the lungs is infected at first, the ability to breathe may not be significantly impacted. However, once the virus spreads to neighboring cells throughout the lungs, it can lead to difficulty breathing and other respiratory problems,” said Ma.
The team says this newly discovered knowledge could assist developers of antiviral drugs by examining the potential impact the antiviral drugs have in strengthening the occludin protein against infection.
Going forward, Ma plans to study if other viral infections also impact the occludin protein in an effort to better understand how viruses interact at the cellular level with the hosts they infect.