Written by: Zohair Ahmed Edited by: Esther Melamed The genome of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, codes for structural and non-structural proteins (ex: proteins mediating the virus’ life cycle). The structural proteins include the envelope (E) protein, spike (S) protein, nucleocapsid (N) protein, and the membrane (M) protein. The S protein plays a critical role in the virus’s ability to enter human cells by mediating recognition of the angiotensin 2 (ACE2) receptor on human cells and directing fusion with the human cell membrane. The S protein is trimeric (made of three protein …
The Gut Microbiota and COVID-19 Severity
Written by: Nadia Siles Edited by: Esther Melamed For years now, we have known that our gut microbiota, the millions of microorganisms that inhabit our digestive tract, is primarily shaped by our diet, environment, and genes. The numerous interactions between our microbiota and our body are complex and bidirectional, to say the least. And in the past decade, mounting evidence has shown that our gut microbiota influences our immune system, as there appears to be a back-and-forth relationship between the gut microbiota and immune homeostasis in our body. Although SARS-CoV-2 primarily …