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News | 20/10/2020 | Press Release

Coronavirus - Neuropilin-1 could open the door to the inside of the cell

How the virus enters the cell: The protein neuropilin-1 facilitates SARS CoV-2 cell entry. A research team including SyNergy member Prof. Mikael Simons of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) recently published these findings in the journal "Science". Because neuropilin-1 is expressed in the mucous membranes of the olfactory and respiratory tract, the findings may be important for understanding the spreading of SARS CoV-2. components for this phenomenon have so far remained elusive.

The degree to which a virus spreads depends on its infectivity. While the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has led to severe pandemic, a related virus, SARS-CoV, led to a much smaller outbreak in 2003, possibly because the infection was limited to the lower respiratory system. SARS-CoV-2, in contrast, infects the upper portions of the respiratory tract, including the nasal mucous membrane and, in consequence, spreads rapidly through active viral shedding. Researchers at TUM, the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), the University Clinic Universitätsmedizin Göttingen and the University of Helsinki have investigated the nature of SARS-CoV-2 infectivity.