JERUSALEM -- Israeli researchers have identified the proteins in the coronavirus that can damage blood vessels, Tel Aviv University (TAU) in central Israel said on Wednesday.
The identification of these proteins may help develop drugs that could stop the virus's activity, or at least minimize damage to blood vessels, according to TAU.
Proteins in the SARS-CoV-2 virus are responsible for severe vascular disease and blood clotting that could even lead to heart attack or stroke.
In a new study, published in the journal eLife, a team of experts led by TAU has been able to identify five of the 29 proteins that make up the virus and responsible for damaging blood vessels or the endothelial cells that line the vessels.
To identify the proteins, the team used the RNA of each of the COVID-19 proteins and examined the reaction that occurred when the various RNA sequences were inserted into human blood vessel cells in the lab.
When the virus produces its 29 proteins in the human body, the blood vessels turn from opaque tubes into kind of permeable nets or pieces of cloth, and there is also an increase in blood clotting, the researchers explained.
The five specific proteins cause the greatest damage to endothelial cells and hence to vascular stability and function, they concluded.