Researchers from the University of Malta have discovered the cause of muscle weakness with prolonged COVID-19. The results of the study were published in the journal. magazine Biochimica and Biophysica Acta (BBA).
Aunts of people recovering from COVID-19 suffer from long-term symptoms such as persistent fatigue, shortness of breath, difficulty concentrating, and muscle weakness.
The authors used the fruit fly model. The virus is known to act on the ACE2 receptor and suppress it to infect the body. But scientists didn’t know what else this led to. In the experiment, they suppressed the receptor without the virus, which was enough to cause fatigue.
When analyzing the work of ACE2, scientists found a violation in the connection between nerves and muscles. Several key molecules needed by nerves to send messages to muscles were found to be at stake.
“In addition to being caught by the virus, the ACE2 receptor on the cell surface can also be targeted by the body’s own immune system, as in multiple sclerosis,” the authors write.
Previously virologist predicted a new wave of COVID-19 in the fall.