New research unveils how SARS-CoV-2 enters the Brain

Recent research has shown that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is responsible for COVID-19, might be entering the brain in a rather peculiar way. Scientists have found out that the virus has the ability to enter brain cells through a different route as other mutations on the spike protein of the virus are disclosed to the researchers. This mechanism could be used to explain possible neurological effects which have been observed in some COVID-19patients. The discovery, made from the tests involving genetically altered mice, offer lots of understanding of the impact of the virus on the brain.

The study conducted in Nature Microbiology focused on one element of the spike protein called the furin cleavage site. Normally, this site helps the virus gain access into cells through the ‘front door’ by binding to AC2 receptors on the outer surface of the cell.In its absence or if the sequence of the furin cleavage site is modified, the Virus of concern has no option but to penetrate the cell through a ‘backdoor’.

SARS-CoV-2 Mutations: Potential Pathways to Target Neurological Effects

This different pathway to the brain may be more efficient in getting the virus into the nervous tissue, which is the reason for some of the neurological signs of COVID-19, in addition to brain fog, dizziness, and memory issues.

To investigate this, experiments were conducted on genetically modified mice with ACE2 receptors derived from humans which is the point the virus uses to penetrate human cells, these mice were infected with SARS-CoV-2 and the researchers looked into the genomes of the virus within the lungs and the brain. According to the discovery, the virus that carries genetic changes in the furin cleavage site was more effective in infecting brain cells with a focus on the hippocampus and premotor cortex which are responsible for memory and movement.

While these results are interesting it has to be noted that the study was done on animals, and more research needs to be done in order to understand whether similar mechanisms happen in humans. Judd Hultquist, a co-author of the study, told Live Science that scientists want to know how these mutations increase the likelihood of the virus affecting the brain. Understanding this process might be critical to creating therapies that target neurological manifestations of COVID-19.

The study opens the possibilities of new treatment strategies with regards to how COVID-19 impacts the brain. This is done in order to design medications that will have to prevent the virus from penetrating the cells in the brain. These treatments may be much helpful in avoiding lasting neurological adverse effects related to the infection. However, there is still a lot to be done to translate such discovery into functional treatment of human patients.

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