Lewis Katz School of Medicine: SARS-CoV-2 Spike Proteins Disrupt the Blood-Brain Barrier, Potentially Raising Risk of Neurological Damage in COVID-19 Patients
OCTOBER 30, 2020
Like a key, SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – attaches to specific molecules on the host cell surface, opening gateways into the cell interior. Viral entry into host cells triggers a prodigious immune response. Much of this battle is waged within the lungs, which explains why many patients hospitalized with COVID-19 have severe respiratory symptoms.
Respiratory symptoms, however, are only part of the story. Increasing evidence points toward blood vessel inflammation as having a crucial impact on the severity of COVID-19. In addition, anywhere from 30 to 80 percent of patients experience neurological symptoms, including dizziness, headache, nausea, and loss of concentration. These symptoms suggest that SARS-CoV-2 also affects cells of the central nervous system.
While there is no evidence yet that the virus invades the brain, new work by scientists at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University shows that the spike proteins that extrude from SARS-CoV-2 promote inflammatory responses on the endothelial cells that form the blood-brain barrier. The study, published in the December print issue of the journal Neurobiology of Disease, is the first to show that SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins can cause this barrier to become “leaky,” potentially disrupting the delicate neural networks within the brain. (Boldface added.)
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National Library of Medicine, 2021 May-Jun: Be aware of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein: There is more than meets the eye
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the rapid production of vaccines aimed at the production of neutralizing antibodies against the COVID-19 spike protein required for the corona virus binding to target cells. The best well-known vaccines have utilized either mRNA or an adenovirus vector to direct human cells to produce the spike protein against which the body produces mostly neutralizing antibodies. However, recent reports have raised some skepticism as to the biologic actions of the spike protein and the types of antibodies produced. One paper reported that certain antibodies in the blood of infected patients appear to change the shape of the spike protein so as to make it more likely to bind to cells, The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the rapid production of vaccines aimed at the production of neutralizing antibodies against the COVID-19 spike protein required for the corona virus binding to target cells. The best well-known vaccines have utilized either mRNA or an adenovirus vector to direct human cells to produce the spike protein against which the body produces mostly neutralizing antibodies. However, recent reports have raised some skepticism as to the biologic actions of the spike protein and the types of antibodies produced. One paper reported that certain antibodies in the blood of infected patients appear to change the shape of the spike protein so as to make it more likely to bind to cells, while other papers showed that the spike protein by itself (without being part of the corona virus) can damage endothelial cells and disrupt the blood-brain barrier. These findings may be even more relevant to the pathogenesis of long-COVID syndrome that may affect as many as 50% of those infected with SARS-CoV-2. In COVID-19, a response to oxidative stress is required by increasing anti-oxidant enzymes. In this regard, it is known that polyphenols are natural anti-oxidants with multiple health effects. Hence, there are even more reasons to intervene with the use of anti-oxidant compounds, such as luteolin, in addition to available vaccines and anti-inflammatory drugs to prevent the harmful actions of the spike protein. These findings may be even more relevant to the pathogenesis of long-COVID syndrome that may affect as many as 50% of those infected with SARS-CoV-2. In COVID-19, a response to oxidative stress is required by increasing anti-oxidant enzymes. In this regard, it is known that polyphenols are natural anti-oxidants with multiple health effects. Hence, there are even more reasons to intervene with the use of anti-oxidant compounds, such as luteolin, in addition to available vaccines and anti-inflammatory drugs to prevent the harmful actions of the spike protein. (Boldface added.)
"[O]ther papers showed that the spike protein by itself (without being part of the corona virus) can damage endothelial cells and disrupt the blood-brain barrier." Spike proteins that are not part of the corona virus would be part of a vaccine.
My wife is currently on her way to full recovery from a brain abscess and doing very well. Her doctors say they have no idea how a strep infection could have gotten into her brain.
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Updated 12/20/2022 at 11:30am: "Staph infection" was corrected to "strep infection."
