Israeli Scientists Identify the COVID Proteins That Can Trigger Heart Attacks, Strokes

JERUSALEM, Israel – Researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU) say they have identified the specific proteins in the SARS-CoV-2 virus that can damage blood vessels and cause heart attacks and strokes.

“We see a very high incidence of vascular disease and blood clotting, for example, stroke and heart attack, among COVID patients,” said TAU researcher Dr. Ben Maoz. “We tend to think of COVID as primarily a respiratory disease, but the truth is that coronavirus patients are up to three times more likely to have a stroke or heart attack.”

“All the evidence shows that the virus severely damages the blood vessels or the endothelial cells that line the blood vessels. However, to this day the virus has been treated as one entity. We wanted to find out which proteins in the virus are responsible for this type of damage,” he explained. 

The novel coronavirus is comprised of 29 proteins. The Israeli researchers say they have identified five of those proteins responsible for damaging the hearts of those infected with the virus. 

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They did this by creating a simulation of the human vascular system in the lab and observing the effect all 29 COVID-19 proteins had on the blood vessels. They noticed that five out of the 29 proteins damaged the tissues. 

“When the coronavirus enters the body, it begins to produce 29 proteins, a new virus is formed, that virus produces 29 new proteins, and so on,” Dr. Maoz explained. “In this process, our blood vessels turn from opaque tubes into kind of permeable nets or pieces of cloth, and in parallel, there is an increase in blood clotting. We thoroughly examined the effect of each of the 29 proteins expressed by the virus and were successful in identifying the five specific proteins that cause the greatest damage to endothelial cells and hence to vascular stability and function."

Dr. Maoz believes the identification of these proteins could help battle the virus or mitigate its impact on the body.

“Our research could help find targets for a drug that will be used to stop the virus’s activity, or at least minimize damage to blood vessels.”

The results of the study were published in the peer-reviewed journal eLife.