A new study uncovers one of the ways the SARS-CoV-2 Virus Recruits Cells to Replicate

A new study by researchers was reported in the magazine Frontiers in the fields of cellular and infectious microbiology.

A new study talked about how a human protein works with the SARS-CoV-2 protein and one way that the virus that causes Covid-19 disease gets cells to reproduce.

In lab tests, scientists from Brazil’s University of Campinas (UNICAP) and the University of São Paulo (USP) stopped molecules from interacting with the drug. This stopped the virus from replicating by 15-20%. They think that their results will help scientists come up with new ways to treat Covid-19.

A professor at the Unicamp School of Applied Sciences (FCA) in Limeira named Fernando Moreira Cimabuco is the lead author of a study funded by the Sao Paulo State Research Support Fund (FAPESP). He says, “A human protein called PCNA (proliferating cell nucleus antigen) interacts with the M protein (“Microprotein matrix”) in SARS-CoV-2. This is one of the molecules that make up the virus’s membrane and give it shape.” The finding itself shows one way that a pathogen changes the way cells work so that it can keep living.

Researchers used different in vitro techniques to look into how virus M protein in the body moves PCNA, a DNA-repairing protein, from the cell nucleus to the cytoplasm. a region of a cell containing organelles responsible for important cell processes.

The researchers say that this movement shows that human proteins and the virus are interacting. Other evidence, like the use of compounds that stop proteins from moving from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, supports this finding.

When cells were treated with a certain PCNA compound and another compound that stops the movement of many proteins, including PCNA, virus replication was 15-20% lower than when cells were not treated.

“If we were thinking about treatment, this drop might not be important,” Cimabuco said. “But our main goal was to show the relationship and show that it could be a therapeutic target in the future.”

Together with experts from the University of the South Pacific School of Medicine’s Department of Pathology, they looked at lung tissue samples taken from the bodies of COVID-19 patients who had died.

The amounts of PCNA and gammaH2AX, which is a sign of DNA damage, were both higher than usual in these samples, which supported the results.

“This finding may also point to another effect of having the virus,” Chimabuko said.

The M protein, along with the E and S proteins, is fixed in the membrane around SARS-CoV-2. It is the most common of the four main structural proteins and is also known as the “skeletal proteins” because it gives the virus its shape. Because of this, it is thought to be a possible target for medicines and vaccines.

The viral spike protein (S) is particularly well known because it links to angiotensin-converting enzyme receptors in human cells. This is why most of the new COVID-19 vaccines are aimed at this protein.

There has been a lot of research into the human PCNA protein in the field of cancer. One project run by Cimabuco as part of a partnership between Campinas State University and Unicamp School of Applied Sciences shows this. PCNA does play a part in viral diseases, but not much is known about it. This means that the new article opens the door to more study into how SARS-CoV-2 and PCNA interact, which will help the progress in making medicines.

The next step is to make sure the results are correct in animal models, but this has not been planned yet.

Source phys.org.