Drug Discovery Center, Cardiovascular Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, U.S.A.
Clin Sci (Lond). 2022 Mar 31;136(6):431-434. doi: 10.1042/CS20220028.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus that results in COVID-19 has been found to damage multiple organs beyond the lung. Interestingly, the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein can be found circulating in the blood of COVID-19 patients. Experimental findings are demonstrating that the circulating S protein can bind to receptors resulting in inflammation and cell, tissue, and organ damage. Avolio et al. previously determined that the S protein acting through the cluster of differentiation 147 (CD147) receptor, and another unknown mechanism had detrimental effects on human cardiac pericytes (Clin Sci (Lond) (2021) 135 (24): 2667-2689. DOI: 10.1042/CS20210735). These findings support the notion that circulating SARS-CoV-2 S protein could contribute to cardiovascular disease independent of viral infection. Future studies are needed to determine the effect of the S protein on pericytes in other organs and evaluate the effectiveness of CD147 receptor-blocking therapies to decrease organ damage caused by the S protein.
导致 COVID-19 的 SARS-CoV-2 病毒已被发现会损害肺部以外的多个器官。有趣的是，SARS-CoV-2 的刺突（S）蛋白可以在 COVID-19 患者的血液中循环。实验结果表明，循环中的 S 蛋白可以与受体结合，导致炎症和细胞、组织和器官损伤。Avolio 等人先前确定，S 蛋白通过分化抗原 147（CD147）受体起作用，以及另一种未知机制对人类心脏周细胞有不良影响（Clin Sci (Lond) (2021) 135 (24): 2667-2689. DOI: 10.1042/CS20210735）。这些发现支持这样一种观点，即循环中的 SARS-CoV-2 S 蛋白可能会导致心血管疾病，而与病毒感染无关。未来的研究需要确定 S 蛋白对其他器官中周细胞的影响，并评估 CD147 受体阻断疗法的有效性，以减少 S 蛋白引起的器官损伤。
