In another experiment, Ludovico Cantuti-Castelvetri of the Technical University Munich and colleagues attached silver particles to synthetic Spike proteins made in the lab and found that these particles were able to enter cells that carried neuropilin-1 on their surfaces. Specifically, this team showed that neuropilin-1 was critical for the SARS-CoV-2 virus to enter and infect cells.īy using an antibody to block one region of the neuropilin-1 receptor protein, the researchers showed that SARS-CoV-2 harvested from COVID-19 patients could not infect cells.
Using similar methods, a team led by German and Finnish researchers came to the same conclusions as the first study.
Neuropilin-1 receptor helps virus infect cells This shows how neuropilin-1 allows SARS-CoV-2 to infect cells. This discovery provides insights that may reveal ways to block the virus. The new work shows that neuropilin-1 is an independent doorway for the COVID-19 virus to infect cells. In a recent paper our team showed how neuropilin-1 is involved with pain signals and how, when the SARS-CoV-2 virus attaches to it, it blocks pain transmission and relieves pain. My colleagues and I were particularly intrigued by these reports because as neuroscientists who study how pain signals are triggered and transmitted to the brain, we were also probing the activity of neuropilin-1. Before this new research, no one suspected that neuropilin-1 could be a door for SARS-CoV-2 to enter the nervous system. This is a major breakthrough and a surprise, because scientists thought neuropilin-1 played roles in helping neurons make the correct connections and aiding the growth of blood vessels. To that end, in two papers published in Science, two teams independently discovered that a protein called the neuropilin-1 receptor is an alternative doorway for SARS-CoV-2 to enter and infect human cells. But for these efforts to succeed, understanding how the virus enters cells is critical. Extraordinary efforts are underway to develop vaccines and other therapies to combat this virus. This tango of three proteins – two human and one viral – enhances the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to enter human cells, replicate and cause disease.ĬOVID-19 has crippled health care systems and economies worldwide. But now enter a new dance partner – another protein – that is present on human cells. The dance began with the ACE2 receptor, a protein on human cells that allows SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to enter and infect the cell. When it comes to how the coronavirus invades a cell, it takes three to tango.
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