Researchers have uncovered a molecule potentially responsible for cognitive symptoms, such as “brain fog,” observed in individuals infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Studies have shown that COVID-19 infection can worsen Alzheimer’s disease in patients with the condition.
COVID-19 Linked to Increased Alzheimer’s Risk
COVID-19 infection may also make people more prone to develop Alzheimer’s disease than people who did not contract COVID-19. Cristina Di Primio and colleagues investigated, in human neuroblastoma cell cultures as well as in mice, the ability of SARS-CoV-2 infection to induce a biochemical endpoint related to Alzheimer’s disease.
Specifically, upon infection by the virus, Tau undergoes hyperphosphorylation at pathological epitopesbinding locations for antibodies in a similar fashion as the protein does in Alzheimer’s patients. This hyperphosphorylation makes Tau more likely to form aggregates.
The authors also detected a significant increase of Tau in the insoluble fraction of infected cells, a sign of pathological alterations to the protein. It is still not clear whether these changes are directly caused by the virus or are part of a cellular defense response that functions to keep the virus out of the cellular areas where the virus could replicate.
More research is required to develop the findings before the work will become clinically relevant, according to the authors.
Source: Eurekalert
