If a cell is infected with Sars-CoV-2, tentacles strewn with virus particles grow out of it. These then transfer the virus to healthy cells.
The latest finding sounds like it was taken from the script of a horror film. But it actually comes from a study published in the journal “Cell”. In it, an international team of researchers led by Mehdi Bouhaddou from the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) investigated how the novel coronavirus spreads so well in our bodies.
They came across two mechanisms that pave the way for the virus.
Exceptional behavior of infected cells
By reprogramming human proteins, Sars-CoV-2 prevents “the division of human cells and keeps them at a certain point in the cell cycle,” explains co-author Pedro Beltrao, group leader at EMBL (European Institute for Bioinformatics) in a message. This gives the virus a relatively stable environment that makes it easier for it to reproduce.
On the other hand, a cell infected with Sars-CoV-2 grows long, branched, arm-like strands that are filled with virus particles – so-called filopodia. These could help the virus reach healthy cells, attack them, and also “zombify” them, as Latimes.com writes. In order to be absolutely sure about this, the team around Bouhaddou, however, requires further studies.
If these confirm the researchers’ thesis, the novel corona virus not only spreads differently than many other viruses that multiply via cell reproduction, but also significantly more efficiently.
Fast virus transmission
The discovery that the coronavirus initiates infected cells to grow filopodia suggests that at some point in its development it has developed more than one way to ensure that it is rapidly passed from cell to cell.
According to Nevan Krogan, professor at UCSF, who was also involved in the study, this is “scary” – and problematic for people. Because a rapid increase in infected cells typically increases a victim’s viral load, it makes one feel sick and promotes the transmission of the virus to other people.
Old drugs, new therapeutic approaches
However, the new findings are not only negative: “The pronounced visualization of the extensive branching of filopodia once again illustrates how understanding the biology behind virus-host interactions can reveal possible points of intervention against the disease,” says Krogan in the message.
Specifically, this means that, as a result of their study, the researchers have identified dozens of already approved drugs that could prevent Sars-CoV-2 from reprogramming human proteins for their own benefit.
Seven of these compounds – primarily cancer and anti-inflammatory drugs – showed strong antiviral properties in laboratory experiments. According to Krogan, these have “great potential for combating Covid-19” – either alone or in combination with other agents.
