What makes SARS-CoV-2 so much more infectious than its predecessor SARS-CoV, is a question ?Why SARS-CoV, a coronavirus led to a much smaller outbreak in 2003, and SARS-CoV-2, spread in such a different way,if they use the same main receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) ?
Researchers from the Technical University of Munich in Germany and the University of Helsinki in Finland discovered ,a receptor called neuropilin-1 which also helps novel coronavirus in infecting our tissues.
This particular protein is relatively abundant on cells lining the nasal cavity. Experiments in the lab,it was found that cells with both the ACE2 and neuropilin-1 proteins, SARS-CoV-2 infection was greater compared to cells with either “doorway” alone.
Coronavirus uses the neuropilin-1 protein to infect human cells in regions of the body where ACE2 isn’t present.
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