Research: how coronavirus penetrates the lungs

 They found a second "key" that uses the coronavirus to penetrate the lungs

https://www.minutouno.com/notas/5164512-encontraron-una-segunda-llave-que-usa-el-coronavirus-penetrar-los-pulmones

Translated from Italian

This is the membrane protein AXL. The finding could change the strategy of medical treatment of the disease.

A new study published in the journal Cell Research and conducted by a group of Chinese scientists found the second element in the human body that the coronavirus takes advantage of to penetrate lung and bronchial cells. This is the membrane protein AXL. The discovery could be part of a new strategy in the clinical treatment of the disease.

The main receptor for the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the body is the ACE2 protein. Its activity in the respiratory tract is extremely low, so the scientists thought about the existence of a coreceptor that could be more active and therefore more beneficial for the virus. L os experiments revealed that overexpression of AXL is so efficient penetration covid-19 as overexpression of ACE 2.

"We found that the UFO receptor tyrosine protein kinase (AXL) specifically interacts with the N-terminal domain of SARS-CoV-2 S," the study stated.

Based on the acquired results, the scientists assured that "the elimination of AXL significantly reduces the infection by SARS-CoV-2 in H1299 lung cells and in human primary lung epithelial cells".