LongCovid – Decision support for prediction and management of Long Covid Syndrome (LCS)

The European project Long COVID works to examine the mechanisms behind the long-term effects of a COVID-19 infection

The Long COVID Consortium, including many EU leading organisations, is the first of its kind to elucidate the predisposing factors and mechanisms for the development of Long Covid Syndrome (LCS)

A seven million EUR funding and four-year research project on long-term effects of COVID-19

To decipher the mechanisms underlying Long Covid Syndrome (LCS), the EU project will conduct geographically diverse cohort and registry studies in Finland, the Netherlands and Switzerland
Photo Credits: Pixabay

The project aims to understand the mechanisms of host-virus response behind the long-term symptoms following COVID-19 infection

Long COVID project will create a Decision support system for the prediction and management of Long Covid Syndrome (LCS)
Photo Credits: Mostphotos

The Long COVID consortium will also conduct research on the mechanisms and biomarkers of long-term effects of COVID-19 infection and the rehabilitation methods

The patient benefits directly from research on the causes and of improved treatment methods of the disease by increasing of hope and strength to tackle this disease

The European project Long COVID works to examine the mechanisms behind the long-term effects of a COVID-19 infection

The Long COVID Consortium, including many EU leading organisations, is the first of its kind to elucidate the predisposing factors and mechanisms for the development of Long Covid Syndrome (LCS)

A seven million EUR funding and four-year research project on long-term effects of COVID-19

To decipher the mechanisms underlying Long Covid Syndrome (LCS), the EU project will conduct geographically diverse cohort and registry studies in Finland, the Netherlands and Switzerland

The project aims to understand the mechanisms of host-virus response behind the long-term symptoms following COVID-19 infection

Long COVID project will create a Decision support system for the prediction and management of Long Covid Syndrome (LCS)

The Long COVID consortium will also conduct research on the mechanisms and biomarkers of long-term effects of COVID-19 infection and the rehabilitation methods

The patient benefits directly from research on the causes and of improved treatment methods of the disease by increasing of hope and strength to tackle this disease

What’s new in the project?

The WP2 “Mechanistic and pathogenetic studies”, led by the University of Helsinki, has discovered the main mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 neuronal infection, founding that even if brain cells express very low levels of the viral receptor, a cellular protein called ACE2 that is very abundant in the respiratory tissues, SARS-CoV-2 can infect and multiply in human neurons.

The first related study shows that the virus first binds to the ACE2 receptor on the surface of neurons, and after being ‘swallowed’ by the cell, the viral particles are transported into the digestive organelles called lysosomes. The lysosomes are full of digestive enzymes. Thanks to these enzymes and their action the virus is able to escape from the lysosomes and enter the cell environment where the multiplication and assembly of new progeny virions occurs. By inhibiting pharmacologically, the transport of viral particles from the surface of the cell into the digestive lysosomes, the authors of the study were able to efficiently prevent neuronal infection.

The findings of this study have recently been published in the Journal of virology.

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