Arca Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:ABIO) and the University of Colorado Anschutz medical campus have jointly announced the publishing of an article that talks about the mechanism that the SARS-CoV-2 virus uses for cell entry and binding.
The paper is titled “Dynamic Regulation of SARS-CoV-2 Binding and Cell Entry Mechanisms in Remodeled Human Ventricular Myocardium.” They published the paper on a journal called JACC: Basic to Translational Science (JBTS). Arca and the University of Colorado disclosed new data regarding the mechanism that SARS-CoV-2 uses to gain entry in the host cell, particularly in the human heart.
The data published in the paper is part of findings from research conducted by investigators at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, and it also included Arca researchers. They were keen on understanding how the mechanism leveraged by the coronavirus in the human heart before prior to heart muscle disease. They were also keen on finding out how the virus affects the heart muscles and the extent of damage that that those muscles suffer. They also sought to establish whether the damaged heart muscles can be repaired through reverse modeling.
The coronavirus currently causing the global pandemic is called SARS-CoV-2 causes the COVID-19 infection when it gains entry into the cells. The recently published article highlights the results of a study involving 46 COVID-19 patients diagnosed with mild-moderate heart failure. The patients were treated for 12 months, and the researchers aimed to determine protease expression, which facilitates the entry of a virus into the host cell through cell membrane fusion.
“These findings add to the evidence that increased ACE2 expression contributes to the increased adverse outcomes risk observed for COVID-19 in patients with the underlying myocardial disease,” stated Dr. Michael Bristow, the CEO of Arca Biopharma.
The CEO revealed another potential avenue through which the coronavirus possibly binds to the host cell through upregulated internalization, especially in remodeled heart ventricles. This information is vital for determining the direction of medical research and the approaches through which they will develop therapies to address COVI-19. They will particularly focus on ACE2 manipulation so that they can prevent viral entry into cells.
