Researchers have disclosed a clearer and clever way the coronavirus uses to enter into human cells through the use of advance technology like powerful microscope and computer simulations to understand this process.
They reveal that the coronavirus has spike proteins that help it get into the human cells. These proteins, they noted, can change to form an open state, which is necessary for them to enter the body’s cells.
When they are open, they can connect to a cell’s receptor, which is like a key to the cell, and that’s how the virus gets inside.
The researchers found that a tiny sugar molecule can trigger the spike protein to open up.
This sugar molecule acts like a switch, allowing the virus to enter the human cells. They noted that the discovery provides new insights into how the virus tricks the immune system to start an infection.
Understanding these spike proteins, the researchers also note, is important because they are crucial for the virus to jump from animals to humans, and are also the main targets for our immune system.
The researchers also focused on a specific coronavirus called HKU1 which is responsible for some common colds; as they found that the virus uses sugar to open its spike proteins and enter the human cells.
According to them, this research helps people to understand how the coronavirus attaches to, and enters the human cells. It is an important step in developing ways to fight the virus and help prevent it from spreading further.
