COVID-19: A Mitochondrial Perspective


Authors: Pankaj Prasun 1 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the worst public health crisis of the century. Although we have made tremendous progress in understanding the pathogenesis of this disease, a lot more remains to be learned. Mitochondria appear to be important in COVID-19 pathogenesis because of its role in innate antiviral immunity, as well as […]

Decoding SARS-CoV-2 hijacking of host mitochondria in COVID-19 pathogenesis


Authors: Keshav K. Singh,* Gyaneshwer Chaubey,* Jake Y. Chen, and Prashanth Suravajhala Because of the ongoing pandemic around the world, the mechanisms underlying the SARS-CoV-2-induced COVID-19 are subject to intense investigation. Based on available data for the SARS-CoV-1 virus, we suggest how CoV-2 localization of RNA transcripts in mitochondria hijacks the host cell’s mitochondrial function to viral advantage. […]

COVID-19 Autopsies Put Endothelial Damage, Angiogenesis in the Spotlight


Authors: L.A. McKeown NEWSDaily News COVID-19 Autopsies Put Endothelial Damage, Angiogenesis in the Spotlight The still-forming picture suggests significantly more new-vessel growth in the lung than would be expected from a typical flu. byL.A. McKeown More autopsy reports on COVID-19 patients, some from the United States, are helping researchers piece together a picture of a […]

Clots, Strokes and Rashes: Is COVID a Disease of the Blood Vessels?


Authors: Will Stone Whether it’s strange rashes on the toes or blood clots in the brain, the widespread ravages of COVID-19 have increasingly led researchers to focus on how the novel coronavirus sabotages blood vessels. As scientists have come to know the disease better, they have homed in on the vascular system — the body’s […]

The Thorny Problem Of COVID-19 Vaccines And Spike Proteins


Authors: W. Glen Pyle Almost since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a piece of the SARS-CoV2 virus called the “spike protein” has drawn interest from researchers and healthcare professionals. New research by Yuyang Lei and colleagues published in the journal Circulation Research sheds new light on how the spike protein might play a critical role in […]

Evidence Shows that COVID-19 Attacks Blood Vessels


Authors: Carolyn Crist As researchers learn more about COVID-19, they’ve seen reports from patients about unusual rashes, blood clots, and strokes, which could all be linked to damaged blood vessels. Scientists are now looking at the vascular system, which includes arteries, veins, and capillaries, to monitor the various ways that the coronavirus attacks the body, […]

COVID-19 is, in the end, an endothelial disease


Authors: Peter Libby, Thomas Lüscher The vascular endothelium provides the crucial interface between the blood compartment and tissues, and displays a series of remarkable properties that normally maintain homeostasis. This tightly regulated palette of functions includes control of haemostasis, fibrinolysis, vasomotion, inflammation, oxidative stress, vascular permeability, and structure. While these functions participate in the moment-to-moment regulation […]

COVID-19 Vasculopathy: Mounting Evidence for an Indirect Mechanism of Endothelial Injury


Authors: Roberto F. Nicosia,∗∗ Giovanni Ligresti,† Nunzia Caporarello,‡ Shreeram Akilesh,∗ and Domenico Ribatti§ Patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who are critically ill develop vascular complications characterized by thrombosis of small, medium, and large vessels. Dysfunction of the vascular endothelium due to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has been implicated in the pathogenesis of the COVID-19 […]

Endothelial dysfunction contributes to COVID-19-associated vascular inflammation and coagulopathy


Authors: Jun Zhang 1, Kristen M Tecson 1, Peter A McCullough 1 2 3 Great attention has been paid to endothelial dysfunction (ED) in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). There is growing evidence to suggest that the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 receptor (ACE2 receptor) is expressed on endothelial cells (ECs) in the lung, heart, kidney, and intestine, particularly in systemic vessels (small and […]

Endothelial dysfunction in COVID-19: Current findings and therapeutic implications


Authors: Matthias P Nägele 1, Bernhard Haubner 1, Felix C Tanner 1, Frank Ruschitzka 1, Andreas J Flammer 2 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) increases the risk of several non-pulmonary complications such as acute myocardial injury, renal failure or thromboembolic events. A possible unifying explanation for these phenomena may be the presence of profound endothelial dysfunction and injury. This review provides an overview on the […]