Trouble with Spikes

Human coronaviruses (HCoVs) are involved in many human respiratory diseases, including the common cold. They can also invade neurons [nerve cells] so it’s thought that they may be involved in some neurological diseases. The image shows neurons with their nuclei in blue. The red ones have been infected by HCoV, whereas the green ones haven’t. Scientists studying them recently found a mutation in HCoVs taken from patients that wasn’t in the laboratory version. This mutation leads to a change in the spike protein, which means that it can be cut up by the cells it invades. This makes the mutated viruses less deadly and slower to spread through the nervous system, though they are still just as capable of invading neurons. They also kill fewer victims, so they could be more likely to create long-term infections of the nervous system as the hosts survive.

Written by Esther Redhouse White

Esther Redhouse White

Writer

A recent Biochemistry graduate from York, Esther has worked on bacterial killing proteins and genetic switches in worms. In her spare time she likes visiting museums full of skeletons.

• Image from work by Alain Le Coupanec and Marc Desforges, and colleagues
• INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier, Université du Québec, Laval, Québec, Canada
• Image originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)
• Published in PLOS Pathogens, November 2015