Coronavirus can infect heart cells in the laboratory

Coronavirus, Health, Science

The new coronavirus can infect heart cells in the laboratory.

This has been shown by working groups of the German Center for Cardiovascular Research, which are coordinated by Frankfurt University Professor Stefanie Dimmeler. For their experiments, the scientists initially used heart muscle cells that were generated from pluripotent stem cells. They were treated with virus isolates from the first German corona patient who had returned to Germany from Wuhan in March.

It turned out that the heart cells took up the virus , the genetic material of the pathogen multiplied, and the virus-typical spike protein was formed. The fluid above the cells in turn infected other cells that are normally used for such experiments in the laboratory. The researchers also rate this as evidence that the heart muscle cells are receptive to the virus.

https://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/gesundheit/coronavirus/coronavirus-kann-im-labor-herzzellen-infizieren-17050566.html

 

 

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

** This post was originally published on November 13, 2020 **