Effects of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein on in vitro aggregation of alpha synuclein- probable molecular interactions and clinical implications

ABSTRACT

There have been reports of neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinsonism, Alzheimer's disease and Creutzfeldt Jakob disease following COVID-19. The exact pathogenesis of these has not been elucidated yet though authors have proposed the possibility of the hyper-inflammatory state of COVID-19 acting as a trigger through cytokine-induced inflammatory response of brain microglia and astrocytes, as well as damage resulting from the central nervous system hypoxia of severe COVID-19, or even the direct pathogenetic actions of SARS-CoV-2 on the brain. There have also been reports of worsening of Parkinsonian symptoms, new onset movement disorders and even rapidly progressive dementia following COVID-19 vaccination using different vaccine types. The occurrence of protein-aggregation mediated neurodegenerative syndromes following both COVID-19 and vaccination led us to explore the common thread of the Spike (S) protein as a potential mediator. In the current study, we investigated the interactions of S protein of SARS-CoV-2 with α-synuclein.