Researchers Discover COVID Proteins That Cause Strokes and Heart Attacks
A team of researchers in Israel have pinpointed the
proteins in COVID-19 that cause
heart attacks and strokes, an accomplishment that the researchers hope will help spur the development of
new drugs.
COVID-19, or SARS-CoV-2, is comprised of 29 proteins, of which
five lead to vascular issues. To discover this, the researchers created a simulation of a human vascular system and observed the impact of all 29 proteins. From there, they were able to determine which proteins interacted with the vascular system and how.
"What we found is these specific proteins make your vasculature
more leaky", Dr Ben Maoz of Tel Aviv University, said. "The tubes become more porous and
cannot hold liquid as you would hope".
The discovery could lead to new therapeutics and treatments for patients suffering from the deadly respiratory disease.
