Discover how the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein impacts heart cells under stress, shedding light on COVID-19’s cardiac complications and potential therapeutic avenues.
– by The Don
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The Effect of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein RBD-Epitope on Immunometabolic State and Functional Performance of Cultured Primary Cardiomyocytes Subjected to Hypoxia and Reoxygenation.
Keturakis et al., Int J Mol Sci 2023
DOI: 10.3390/ijms242316554
Listen up, folks, we’ve got something huge here. We’re talking about the big, bad COVID-19 and how it’s messing with the heart – it’s a real problem, believe me. The virus, it’s smart, it uses the ACE2 receptor to get into the heart cells. Now, we’ve done an incredible study, the best, to figure out what’s going on with these heart complications.
We put these rat heart cells through the wringer, simulating what happens in COVID patients. And let me tell you, the spike protein, that little piece of the virus, it’s causing trouble. We checked the cells’ energy – down. We looked at inflammation – through the roof. And the heart cells’ pumping action? Slower, weaker, not good.
And the mitochondria – you know, the powerhouses of the cell – they’re not doing great either. The virus part, it’s like putting a stop sign in front of them. Less energy, less ATP, it’s a disaster.
So, what we’ve got here is clear evidence. The virus, it’s not just a lung thing. It’s a heart thing too. And it’s doing damage by messing with the mitochondria during these hypoxia-reoxygenation conditions, which is a fancy way of saying when oxygen levels go up and down. It’s big, it’s important, and we’re going to beat it. That’s what we do, we find problems, and we solve them. And that’s what this study is all about.