{"id":482241,"date":"2021-04-27T08:04:43","date_gmt":"2021-04-27T12:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/taking-the-spike-out-of-covid-19\/"},"modified":"2021-04-27T08:04:43","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T12:04:43","slug":"taking-the-spike-out-of-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/taking-the-spike-out-of-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking the spike out of COVID-19:"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nOriginal coronavirus research being conducted at Georgia College
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Milledgeville, GA, April 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Its triangular spikes are what make coronavirus such a formidable foe.<\/p>\n

But they could also be its Achilles\u2019 heel.<\/p>\n

Georgia College Assistant Professor of Chemistry Dr. David Zoetewey and three students are working to expose this weakness and prevent the virus\u2019 spear-like mechanism from harpooning into human cells.<\/p>\n

This research could someday result in a medicine that prevents coronavirus from attaching.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpike proteins are very important for the virus and its ability to cause infection,\u201d Zoetewey said. \u201cWithout the spike protein, there is no viral infection. If we can do something that disrupts how the spike protein works, then we can prevent the virus from becoming infectious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scientists all over the world are working on COVID-19\u2014and the spike protein is just one small piece. Every little bit contributes to our understanding of how the virus works, however, and every step is a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to not only eradicate coronavirus\u2014but also be ready for the next pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat made COVID-19 so bad was how fast it spreads,\u201d Zoetewey said, \u201cand that\u2019s really made it the perfect storm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt may not be a coronavirus next time. It may be a strain of the flu. It may be something else that we don\u2019t even know of yet,\u201d he said. \u201cThe fact we had SARS and then MERS and now COVID-19\u2014and they\u2019re all coronaviruses from the same family\u2014that tells us coronaviruses have high potential to do this again.\u201d<\/p>\n

All viruses hijack cells. But the coronavirus known as COVID-19 is particularly cunning, because its pegs act as spears connecting it to other cells. These spikes are proteins, and proteins are built with a sequence of amino acids that dictate their particular shape and movement.<\/p>\n

The coronavirus spikes remain folded, until a \u201ca target is recognized,\u201d Zoetewey said. Then, one pops out \u201clike a jackknife\u201d to harpoon into a victim cell\u2014effectively taking command. The harpoon is what enables the two cell membranes to fuse together.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say all viruses that use this mechanism are devious,\u201d Zoetewey said. \u201cWe kind of assign them Machiavellian traits, but it\u2019s just a protein that doesn\u2019t know any better. It\u2019s doing its job. But its job has a bad effect on us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scientists know what the spike protein looks like before and after the harpoon effect. But they can only speculate on what occurs in-between. Working on this small piece of the puzzle, Zoetewey and his students hope to discover how spikes unfold and thrust.<\/p>\n

The team is isolating and growing small fragments of the spike protein in bacterium. They\u2019ve applied for a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance machine. It can take pictures of the spike protein in its native state and provide \u201ca living picture\u201d of its movement and function.<\/p>\n

Freshman chemistry major Gabe Allred of Eatonton said he was amazed to be doing undergraduate research his first year in college. Even more remarkable, he’s doing research on a virus that\u2019s currently challenging the entire world population.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always knew it was a dangerous virus, but it wasn\u2019t until I joined Dr. Zoetewey’s\u00a0group that I learned what makes it dangerous, and how exactly it spreads from cell to cell and replicates. This was a very fascinating insight to learn about a very prominent problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

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