Why Covid-19 is effective at attacking the body

COVID-19 begins in the lungs, like the common cold coronavirus, but subsequently causes havoc in the immune system, which can lead to long-term lung damage or death.

COVID-19 is caused by a coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. Coronaviruses belong to a group of viruses that infect animals, from peacocks to whales. They were named after a spike at the tip of the bulb that protrudes from the surface of the virus and looks like a corona surrounding it.

Coronavirus infection usually plays one of two ways: as a pulmonary infection, including some cases of what people call a common cold, or as an intestinal infection that causes diarrhea. COVID-19 begins in the lungs, like the common cold coronavirus, but then causes a disruption in the immune system that can lead to long-term lung damage and death.

SARS-CoV-2 is genetically very similar to other human respiratory coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. However, subtle genetic differences can lead to important differences in how easily coronaviruses infect people and how to make people sick.

SARS-CoV-2 has Same genetic device So Original SARS-CoVIn 2003, it caused a pandemic, but about 6,000 mutations are scattered in the usual places where coronavirus changes. Compare whole milk to skim milk.

Compared to other human coronaviruses such as MERS-CoVThe new virus emerged in the Middle East in 2012 and has customized versions of the same common equipment for cell invasion and its own copy. However, SARS-CoV-2 has a completely different set of genes, called accessories, that offer small advantages to this new virus in certain situations. For example, MERS has certain proteins that block cells from functioning to warn about virus invaders. SARS-CoV-2 has an unrelated gene and its position in its genome still has unknown function. Compare milk and almond milk.

A. Virus infection method

All coronavirus infections begin with viral particles, A spherical shell that protects a single long string of genetic material Insert into human cells. Genetic material instructs cells to make about 30 different parts of the virus, allowing the virus to reproduce. of Cells that prefer to be infected by SARS-CoV-2 Has a protein called ACE2, which is important for regulating blood pressure

Infection begins when a long spike protein protruding from the virus particle becomes infected Latch to ACE2 protein in cells. From that point, the spike deforms, unfolds, and refolds using coiled spring-like components embedded in the core of the spike. The reconstructed spike hooks into the cell, causing the virus particle and cell to crash together. This creates a channel through which the genetic material of a set of viruses can enter unprotected cells.

SARS-CoV-2 spreads in close contact from person to person. of Outbreak of Xintiandi Church in Korea In February, an excellent demonstration of how and how quickly SARS-CoV-2 will spread will be provided. One or two people infected with the virus appeared to be in close proximity to a non-infected person for several minutes at a time in a crowded room. Within two weeks, thousands were infected in the country, and more than half of the infection at that time was due to the church. The outbreak began quickly because public health authorities were unaware of the possibility and had not been extensively tested at that stage. Since then, authorities have worked hard, New cases in Korea are steadily declining.

B. How the virus makes people sick

SARS-CoV-2 grows on type II lung cells, which secrete soap-like substances, cells that help air enter deep into the lungs, and cells that line the throat. Like SARS, most of the damage to COVID-19 is a disease caused by a new coronavirus, caused by the immune system protecting the scorched earth to prevent the virus from spreading. Millions of cells of the immune system invade infected lung tissue, Cause massive damage In the process of wiping out virus and infected cells.

Each COVID-19 lesion ranges from grape size to grapefruit size. The challenge for healthcare professionals who treat patients is to support the body and provide oxygen to the blood while the lungs are self-repairing.

How SARS-CoV-2 Infects, Gets Sick, and Kills People.

SARS-CoV-2 has a sliding scale of severity. Patients under the age of 10 seem to be able to remove the virus easily. Most people under the age of 40 recover quickly. Older people suffer from increasingly serious COVID-19. The ACE2 protein, which SARS-CoV-2 uses as a door to enter cells, is also important for regulating blood pressure and does not work when the virus first arrives. This is one of the reasons why COVID-19 is more serious in people with high blood pressure.

SARS-CoV-2 More severe than seasonal flu In part, there are many ways to prevent cells from seeking help from the immune system. For example, one way that cells try to respond to infection is to make an interferon, an alarm signaling protein. SARS-CoV-2 blocks this by a combination of camouflage, cuts protein markers from cells that function as distress beacons, and eventually shreds the antiviral instructions that cells make before they are used. As a result, COVID-19 can weaken for a month and cause a small amount of damage every day, but most people overcome the flu case in less than a week.

Currently, the transmission speed of SARS-CoV-2 is Pandemic 2009 slightly higher than H1N1 Influenza virus, SARS-CoV-2 Deadly at least 10 times. Based on currently available data, COVID-19 closely resembles severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), but is less likely to be more severe than SARS.

C. What is not known

This virus and the coronavirus in general still have many mysteries. The subtle differences in the way they cause disease, the way they interact with proteins in cells, the structure of proteins that form new viruses, and some basic viral copy mechanisms work.

Another unclear point is how COVID-19 responds to seasonal changes. of Influenza tends to follow a cold climate, In both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Some other human coronaviruses spread at low levels throughout the year, but Spring peak. But Certainly no one knows Why these viruses vary from season to season.

What is surprising so far in this outbreak is all the good science that came out soon. The research community Structure of virus spike protein and ACE2 protein After the gene sequence is available, some of the spike proteins attach for just over a month. I spent the first 20 years or so researching on coronaviruses, but without either advantage. This is a good sign to better understand, prevent and treat COVID-19.

This article was originally published conversation Along Benjamin Neumann -Texarkana at Texas A & M University. Read Click here for the original article.