Researchers have discovered that while SARS-CoV-2 is primarily a respiratory disease, it can also cause brain cells to fuse, initiating malfunctions that lead to chronic symptoms in the nervous system.
Published in Science Advances on Jun 7, the new study is an exploration into how viruses alter the function of the brain, authors Massimo Hilliard and Ramon Martinez-Marmol from the Queensland Brain Institute said.
“We discovered COVID-19 causes neurons to undergo a cell fusion process, which has not been seen before,” said Hilliard, a professor of molecular and cellular neurobiology at the University of Queensland.
“After neuronal infection with SARS-CoV-2, the spike S protein becomes present in neurons, and once neurons fuse, they don’t die.”…