A research team has engineered novel nanoparticles to serve as ‘molecular traps’ to target SARS-CoV-2, the virus that spreads COVID-19. The traps bind to SARS-CoV-2 and prevent it from attacking macrophages.

«These nanoparticles can help maintain white blood cells’ regular function to combat virus infection,» said Changcheng Zhou, a professor of biomedical sciences in the UCR School of Medicine, who co-led the research with Tzung K. Hsiai, a professor of medicine and bioengineering at UCLA.

Macrophages

Zhou explained that macrophages serve as frontline immune cells in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection by recognizing and swallowing up viruses. These cells also produce cytokines, the production of which is an important part of the body’s immune response but can become out of control. The virus-induced cytokine storm — the flooding by the immune system of the bloodstream with inflammatory proteins called cytokines — that follows an infection can kill tissue and damage organs. Zhou said inflamed macrophages are capable of infiltrating different tissues to cause adverse effects associated with COVID-19, such as myocarditis or heart inflammation.

«Our findings can potentially be used to treat COVID-19-associated diseases, including heart disease,» he said. «In addition to lung inflammation or injury, approximately 15% of COVID-19 patients with pre-existing conditions may develop acute cardiac arrhythmia and myocarditis, and macrophages may play an important role in this process.»

Mechanisms underlying SARS-CoV-2-mediated macrophage dysfunctions are not entirely known to scientists. According to Zhou, this is because many immune cells, including macrophages, express low levels of human ACE2, or hACE2, the receptor for SARS-CoV-2.

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Materials provided by University of California — Riverside. Original written by Iqbal Pittalwala. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.