Naslov
COVID-19 Infection and Neurodegeneration: A Potential Link Revealed by Computational Simulations

Autori
Hok, Lucija ; Rimac, Hrvoje ; Mavri, Janez ; Vianello, Robert

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
19th Ružička days "Today science – tomorrow industry" : book of abstracts = 19. međunarodni znanstveno-stručni skup Ružičkini dani "Danas znanost - sutra industrija" : knjiga sažetaka / Babić, Jurislav - Osijek : Zagreb : Prehrambeno tehnološki fakultet Sveučilišta Josipa Jurja Strossmayera u Osijeku ; Hrvatsko društvo kemijskih inženjera i tehnologa (HDKI), 2022, 116-116

Skup
International Conference 19th Ružička days "Today science – tomorrow industry" = 19. međunarodni znanstveno-stručni skup Ružičkini dani "Danas znanost - sutra industrija"

Mjesto i datum
Vukovar, Hrvatska, 21.09.2022. - 23.09.2022

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Poster

Vrsta recenzije
Domaća recenzija

Ključne riječi
neurodegeneration ; SARS-CoV-2 spike protein ; South African B.1.351 variant

Sažetak
Although COVID-19 has been primarily associated with pneumonia, recent data show that its causative agent, the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, can infect many vital organs beyond the lungs, including the heart, kidneys and the brain. The literature agrees that COVID-19 is likely to have long-term mental health effects on infected individuals, which signifies a need to understand the role of the virus in the pathophysiology of brain disorders that is currently unknown and widely debated. Our docking and molecular dynamics simulations show that the affinity of the spike protein from the wild type (WT) and the South African B.1.351 (SA) variant towards MAO enzymes is comparable to that for its ACE2 receptor. This allows for the WT/SA∙∙∙MAO complex formation, which changes MAO affinities for their neurotransmitter substrates, thereby impacting their metabolic conversion and misbalancing their levels. Knowing that this fine regulation is strongly linked with the etiology of various brain pathologies, these results are the first to highlight the possibility that the interference with the brain MAO catalytic activity is responsible for the increased neurodegenerative illnesses following a COVID-19 infection, thus placing a neurobiological link between these two conditions in the spotlight. Since the obtained insight suggests that a more contagious SA variant causes even larger disturbances, and with new and more problematic strains likely emerging in the near future, we firmly advise that the presented prospect of the SARS-CoV-2 induced neurological complications should not be ignored, but rather requires further clinical investigations to achieve an early diagnosis and timely therapeutic interventions.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Kemija

POVEZANOST RADA