The mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2 virus alters human cells infected with the coronavirus, as well as shutting down defense systems and protein synthesis, has been discovered. This contributes to the development of severe symptoms in COVID-19 patients.
According to Gadin.Net, scientists from the Pasadena California Institute of Technology (USA) published an article in the journal Cell.
Researchers have studied how each of the proteins created by the coronavirus genome interacts with molecular components in the cells of the human body. SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to attack three important cellular processes by disrupting protein synthesis in the body.
First, the virus causes dysfunction in the maturation of the molecule mRNA (information RNA), which transmits genetic information from the cell nucleus to the ribosomes where proteins are synthesized.
Second, it blocks the ribosomes themselves.
Third, it disrupts the extracellular transport system.
All this together interferes with the normal functioning of the cell's defense systems. In this case, the cell does not die, and the virus can use it, as well as its resources to reproduce itself.