Visualizing the initial steps of blood clotting by SARS-Cov2 Spike protein

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25250/thescbr.brk753

Keywords:

SARS-Cov2, Spike protein, platelet, cryo-ET, coagulation

Abstract

The SARS-Cov-2 Spike protein has been attributed to many peculiar symptoms of COVID-19, like blood clotting and tissue damage. Using the cutting-edge cryo-electron tomographic technique, we directly observed SARS-Cov2 Spike proteins acting on the platelet surface. Our finding explains why SARS-Cov-2 can significantly jeopardize blood clotting compared to other coronaviruses.

Author Biographies

  • Naoko Mizuno, National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Health

    Senior Investigator

  • Christian Biertuempel, National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Health

    Staff Scientist

Original article reference

Kuhn, C. C., Basnet, N., Bodakuntla, S., Alvarez-Brecht, P., Nichols, S., Martinez-Sanchez, A., Agostini, L., Soh, Y.-M., Takagi, J., Biertümpfel, C., & Mizuno, N. (2023). Direct Cryo-ET observation of platelet deformation induced by SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Nature Communications, 14(1), 620. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36279-5

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Published

2023-10-06

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 4 (2023): TheScienceBreaker

Section

Health & Physiology

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Naoko Mizuno, Christian Biertuempel

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.