SARS-CoV-2 spike protein causes blood coagulation and thrombosis by competitive binding to heparan sulfate.
Int J Biol Macromol
; 193(Pt B): 1124-1129, 2021 Dec 15.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1487744
ABSTRACT
Thrombotic complication has been an important symptom in critically ill patients with COVID-19. It has not been clear whether the virus spike (S) protein can directly induce blood coagulation in addition to inflammation. Heparan sulfate (HS)/heparin, a key factor in coagulation process, was found to bind SARS-CoV-2 S protein with high affinity. Herein, we found that the S protein can competitively inhibit the bindings of antithrombin and heparin cofactor II to heparin/HS, causing abnormal increase in thrombin activity. SARS-CoV-2 S protein at a similar concentration (~10 µg/mL) as the viral load in critically ill patients can cause directly blood coagulation and thrombosis in zebrafish model. Furthermore, exogenous heparin/HS can significantly reduce coagulation caused by S protein, pointing to a potential new direction to elucidate the etiology of the virus and provide fundamental support for anticoagulant therapy especially for the COVID-19 critically ill patients.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Thrombosis
/
Blood Coagulation
/
Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
Heparitin Sulfate
Type of study:
Etiology study
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Int J Biol Macromol
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.ijbiomac.2021.10.112
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