The decreased ability to expand blood vessels that serve the lungs could impair the ability of the body to take up oxygen from lungs that are damaged by the virus. When isolated pulmonary arteries were exposed to the spike protein carrying pseudovirus there was some disruption in the ability of the blood vessels to dilate. Since mitochondria are responsible for providing energy to cells, their dysfunction can cause cell death. When researchers added pseudovirus to cultured endothelial cells they found that the mitochondria inside the cells were injured. Hamsters treated with the spike protein coated pseudovirus showed lung damage similar to that seen in humans infected with SARS-CoV2. Pseudoviruses – which were first developed over 50 years ago – contain the outer shell of the virus, but they lack the viral genes needed to reproduce. Researchers from Jiaotong University the University of California, San Diego and the Salk Institute used a pseudovirus coated with spike protein to investigate the effects of the viral protein on endothelial cells. Despite the established link between COVID-19 and these cardiovascular complications, the mechanism by which they develop is unknown. SARS-CoV2 injures the endothelium leading to blood clots, heart attack, pulmonary embolism, and stroke. The endothelium is a system of cells that line and protect the inside of blood vessels. The vascular endothelium is an important player in the illness and death associated with COVID-19. But a review of the study’s findings shows that the concerns raised by vaccine doubters are much ado about nothing. Vaccine skeptics have seized on the study to cast doubt on the safety of vaccines. New research by Yuyang Lei and colleagues published in the journal Circulation Research sheds new light on how the spike protein might play a critical role in the widespread damage caused by SARS-CoV2, and offers insight into treating the complications of COVID-19. Almost since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a piece of the SARS-CoV2 virus called the “spike protein” has drawn interest from researchers and healthcare professionals.
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