COVID-19 spike protein could cause leaking blood vessels, possible organ failure

BERKELEY (CBS SF/BCN) — COVID-19’s spike protein may contribute to fluid-secreting blood vessels in a person’s body, which can lead to serious health problems like respiratory failure, a study by researchers from the University of California at Berkeley.

The study, published Friday in the journal “Nature Communications,” found that the spike protein on COVID virus particles can damage blood vessel walls throughout the body, causing a condition known as vascular leak.

As a result, plasma and other fluids carried through blood vessels can lead to lung and heart damage that often occurs in severe cases of COVID.

Blocking the protein’s damage to blood vessels could thus help prevent some of the most serious symptoms and outcomes of the virus, the researchers say.

“In light of all the different variants that are emerging and the difficulty in preventing infection from each individually, it might be beneficial to focus on these pathogenesis triggers in addition to completely blocking infection,” said Scott Biering. , postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley. and lead author of the study.

The spike protein may act similarly to the dengue virus’ NS1 protein, the researchers say. The dengue virus, transmitted by infected mosquitoes, can also cause vascular leakage and lead to organ failure due to severe loss of blood or other fluids that cause the heart to pump.

The researchers also noted that the spike protein does not cause symptoms on its own, but rather works alongside a COVID viral infection to cause severe disease.

“We had identified this protein secreted by cells infected with dengue virus which, even in the absence of the virus, is able to… disrupt internal barriers,” said study lead author Eva Harris. and specialist in infectious diseases and vaccinology. professor at UC Berkeley.

“So we wondered if a SARS-CoV-2 protein, like the spike, might be able to do similar things,” Harris said.

The results of the study and future analyzes could eventually help medical and scientific researchers develop new treatments for COVID that could specifically prevent serious disease.

“We have better vaccines now, but we don’t know how the virus will mutate in the future,” Biering said. “Studying this process could help us develop a new arsenal of drugs so that if someone has a vascular leak, we can just target that.”

The full study is available at nature.com.