Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 22, 2025
08:41
Live Imaging and Quantification of Viral Infection in K18 hACE2 Transgenic Mice Using Reporter-Expressing Recombinant SARS-CoV-2
Published on: November 5, 2021
3.1K
Polycations and polyanions in SARS-CoV-2 infection.
1The Hebrew University - Hadassah School of Medicine, The Faculty of Dental Medicine, The Ein-Kerm Campus, Jerusalem, Israel.
Medical Hypotheses
|January 7, 2021
Summary
Polycations like histones from neutrophils worsen COVID-19 by aiding viral entry and increasing cell damage. Negatively charged polyanions may offer relief.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Virology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Neutrophils release polycations, including nuclear histones, during COVID-19.
- These positively charged molecules may interact with negatively charged biological structures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the hypothesis that neutrophil-derived polycations aggravate COVID-19.
- To elucidate the mechanisms by which polycations contribute to disease severity.
- To explore potential therapeutic interventions using polyanions.
Main Methods:
- The study proposes a hypothesis based on known biological interactions.
- Mechanisms involve electrostatic interactions, viral binding, and synergistic cytotoxicity.
- Potential therapeutic strategies are suggested based on charge neutralization.
Main Results:
- Polycations may neutralize electrostatic repulsion, enhancing virus-cell entry.
- Polycations can bind to virions, promoting opsonin-mediated endocytosis.
- Polycations contribute to cytotoxicity alongside other inflammatory mediators.
Conclusions:
- Neutrophil-derived polycations are hypothesized to be key contributors to COVID-19 pathogenesis.
- Targeting these polycationic effects with polyanions like heparin could be a therapeutic avenue.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
02:50Conjugated Proteins
24.2K
Simple proteins and protein complexes contain only amino acids. In contrast, many other proteins, called conjugated proteins, covalently bond with non-protein moieties.
Nucleoproteins are protein complexes that contain nucleic acids, categorized as deoxyribonucleoproteins (DNPs) or ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) respectively. The nucleosome is a typical example of a DNP where nuclear DNA is associated with histone proteins. The major antigen for the Covid-19 virus SARS-CoV is an RNP that is critical...
Nucleoproteins are protein complexes that contain nucleic acids, categorized as deoxyribonucleoproteins (DNPs) or ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) respectively. The nucleosome is a typical example of a DNP where nuclear DNA is associated with histone proteins. The major antigen for the Covid-19 virus SARS-CoV is an RNP that is critical...
24.2K
01:10Intracellular Movement of Viruses and Bacteria
3.2K
Intracellular bacteria and viruses often comprise a group of highly infectious pathogens that can cause several diseases. Bacterial pathogens include those belonging to the genus Rickettsia responsible for conditions such as rocky mountain spotted fever and the Mediterranean spotted fever; Chlamydia, a genus responsible for a sexually transmitted disease; Coxiella burnetii, an agent responsible for Q fever. Viral pathogens include vaccinia—a poxvirus, and herpes simplex virus—a...
3.2K
01:09GPCRs Regulate Adenylyl Cylase Activity
6.5K
Some GPCRs transmit signals through adenylyl cyclase (AC), a transmembrane enzyme. AC helps synthesize second messenger cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). AC catalyzes cyclization reaction and converts ATP to cAMP by releasing a pyrophosphate. The pyrophosphate is further hydrolyzed to phosphate by the enzyme pyrophosphatase, which drives cAMP synthesis to completion. However, cAMP is rapidly degraded to 5′ AMP by the enzymes phosphodiesterase (PDE), preventing overstimulation of...
6.5K
01:29Subviral Agents
312
Subviral agents are infectious entities that resemble viruses but lack one or more viral components, such as a capsid or essential replication machinery. These agents include viroids, prions, and satellites, each possessing distinct structural and functional characteristics that influence their mode of infection and replication.Viroids are the simplest subviral agents, consisting of circular, single-stranded RNA molecules without a protein coat. They exclusively infect plants, relying entirely...
312
01:29Viruses with RNA Genomes
422
RNA viruses are categorized into positive-strand, negative-strand, or double-stranded groups based on their genomic structure and replication mechanisms. This classification dictates how they exploit host cellular machinery for protein synthesis and replication. Some RNA viruses also utilize reverse transcription as part of their life cycle, further diversifying their replication strategies.Positive-Strand RNA VirusesPositive-strand RNA viruses have genomes that function directly as messenger...
422
01:05Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms-SNPs
17.4K
A single nucleotide polymorphism or SNP is a single nucleotide variation at a specific genomic position in a large population. It is the most prevalent type of sequence variation found in the human genome. Point mutations that occur in more than 1% of the population qualify as SNPs. These are present once every 1000 nucleotides on an average in the human genome. Replacement of a purine with another purine (A/G) or a pyrimidine with another pyrimidine (C/T) is known as a transition. In contrast,...
17.4K