New study: Covid goes for Heme, causing lung inflammation

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new findings from a new study released by Chinese researchers, Dr Wenzhong Liu from Sichuan University and Dr Hualan Li from Yibin University. Their research, which is published a few days ago in ChemRxiv, revealed that the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus attacks hemoglobin in the the red blood cells through a series of cellular actions, that ultimately renders the red blood cells incapable of transporting oxygen. This is huge: “ultimately renders the red blood cells incapable of transporting oxygen.” This could explain why some COVID-19 died after being taken into the ICU. In addition, it seems that using ventilator may be doing much damage to COVID-19 patients...

Earlier studies also find that the novel coronavirus enters epithelial cells through the spike protein interacting with the human ACE2 receptor protein on the surface, causing human infection. However, structural analysis of the spike protein (S) protein of the novel coronavirus reveals that the S protein only weakly binds to the ACE2 receptor
compared to SARS coronavirus. The researchers report demonstrates that the hemoglobin and neutrophil counts of most patients have decreased, and the index values of serum ferritin, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, albumin, and lactate dehydrogenase of many patients increase significantly.

In other words, the coronavirus sneaks into cells through ACE2 receptors in the lung tissues and attacks it and causes major damage while cytokine storms are creating more damage. This could also explain the symptoms with most COVID-19 patients, especially the inability for the body to get enough oxygen along with carbon dioxide build up that is creating the so called ARDS symptoms and stress.

This finding could provide a clue in providing the right treatment with drugs that target ACE2, or angiotensin converting enzyme-2, could be the key to unlocking either a coronavirus vaccine or a treatment for Covid-19. This new finding also shows that some of the current approaches to treating COVID-19 may be wrong especially the use of ventilators in a non-proper manner way that could actually aggravate already ‘injured’ and inflamed lungs.

“This trace implies that the patient’s hemoglobin is decreasing, and the heme is increasing, and the body will accumulate too many harmful iron ions, which will cause inflammation in the body and increase C-reactive protein and albumin. Cells react to stress due to inflammation, producing large amounts of serum ferritin to bind free iron ions to reduce damage. Hemoglobin consists of four subunits, 2-a and 2-ß, and each subunit has an iron-bound heme,” the study found.

“The attack will lead to less hemoglobin to carry oxygen and carbon dioxide. The lung cells have extremely intense inflammation due to the inability to exchange carbon dioxide and oxygen frequently, which eventually results in ground-glass-like lung images. Patients with respiratory distress will be made worse. Diabetic patients and older people have higher glycated hemoglobin. Glycated hemoglobin was reduced by the attack, which made patients’ blood sugar unstable. Since the porphyrin complexes of the virus produced in the human body inhibited the heme anabolic pathway, they caused a wide range of infection and disease,” the researchers said.

From their findings, the damage to coronavirus patients comes after the virus sneaks into the red blood cells, hijacks it, and removes the Iron ions from the heme groups (HBB) and replaces themselves with it. The attack prevents the hemoglobin unable to transport oxygen to other body organs. As a result, the lungs are stressed out and inflamed while the rest of the organs are also depleted of the much needed oxygen. The so called ARDS and subsequent organ failure could be attributed to this.

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