LONDON: The SARS-COV-2 virus can contribute to damage to small blood vessels in the heart as seen in Covid-19 patients who are seriously ill, without infecting them, a study shows.
Research, published in the journal Clinical Science, shows antibody blocking can represent new care to reduce cardiovascular complications The multidisciplinary research team led by the University of Bristol, England, analyzed how SARS-COV-2 interacted with the heart cells that caused myocardial damage seen in Covid-19 patients.
Until now, it remains unclear whether the heart cells are infected by viruses or damaged due to excess cytotoxic defense response This response, also known as cytokine storms’, comes from our immune cells, where cytotoxic cells attack and kill infected cells by releasing proteins, called cytokines.
This study also investigates whether the heart cells contribute to generating excess cytokines The team led by Professor Paolo Madeddu opened the Human Heart of Pericytes, which is a cell that wraps small blood vessels in the heart, to the Alpha and Delta SARS-COV-2 variants, along with the original Wuhan virus.
They found the heart pericytes not infected In the second test tube experiment, the researchers challenged the heart pericytes with only a surge protein – the virus used to enter and infect cells – without viruses The protein surge makes Pericytes unable to interact with their companion endothelial cells and induce them to issue inflammatory cytokines, show proteins in harmful surge for human heart cells.
The team found that the antibodies blocked CD147 – receptors for protected heart protected proteins from damage The findings show that SARS-COV-2 can damage vascular cells without infecting them, according to researchers Spike surge protein particles can also strengthen damage caused by virion involvement full of vascular cells, he added.
The researchers identified the presence of a surge in SARS-COV-2 protein in a blood sample obtained from Covid-19 patients It opens the possibility that spike particles proteins traveling through circulation can reach sites far from the respiratory system and cause systemic damage, they said “Pericytes are heart essential cells, although their role in maintaining the structural integrity of coronary vascular trees has just appeared recently,” Elisa Avolio said, the first writer of the study from the Bristol Medical School.
“Our ongoing research on human heart pericytes shows these cells in collaboration with coronary endothelial cells during healing from a heart attack,” Avolio said This study shows that surge proteins endanger this interaction and change pericytes into inflammatory cells The researchers noted that CD147 blocking antibodies could represent new care to alleviate cardiovascular complications in Covid-19 patients.
“Microvascular complications are frequent and dangerous in patients with Covid-19, with up to 11 percent of those who are hospitalized in an intensive care unit that has myocardial damage or has had a heart attack,” Professor Paolo Madeddu, from the Bristol Medical School, added “Furthermore, people with existing cardiovascular diseases are more likely to die because of Covid-19,” Madeddu added.
