Coronavirus: Biological Pathway of the Virus
- Valerie Shim
- Jul 15, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 17, 2020
The Covid-19 virus is an RNA virus while some viruses can contain DNA.
An RNA virus has a higher mutation rate than a DNA virus which means that it can survive and adapt more efficiently. Although the new coronavirus has similar symptoms to the common cold, its biological pathway is quite different. Initially the virus has two ways of entering the cell. One way is through the use of an endosome and the second way is through the plasma membrane. For today, I will be talking about how the virus enters through the plasma membrane as there is a lot of information to take in. The virus enters the body using its spike proteins which are located on the envelope and membrane protein of the virus. The spike proteins attach to the ACE2 cell receptor. The RNA is contained in this envelope. Note that the envelope is not found in all viruses. The overall biological process of the virus is very complex but to simplify it, the virus follows a series of steps to replicate itself. First the virus goes through translation, transcription, and then replicates although this is not the typical pathway we might have learned in biology class. It is important to note that after translation the RNA polymerase helps the virus to transcribe. A series of proteins form from the transcription which proceed to the rough endoplasmic reticulum to be synthesized. Some of these proteins are the membrane protein, nucleocapsid protein, and the envelope protein. It is essential that these are carried out to the rough ER, because these special proteins help form the Covid-19 virus. Remember the golgi apparatus? The proteins in the rough ER move on to the golgi where the proteins are packed into vesicles. Inside these vesicles, the viruses are starting to form its unique structure. After the vesicles fuse with the cellular membrane, the viruses are released out of the cell through exocytosis. The new release of viruses from the cell can go attach to ACE2 receptors and continue to infect other cells. This will start the cycle again. A recent study has shown that the virus can restrict transcription factors by attaching to the promoter regions. The promoter is found on the operon of the DNA sequence. The RNA polymerase binds at the promoter for transcription to occur. The restriction of transcription factors will also stop the production of proteins for the replication of the viruses.The change in DNA methylation is one of the reasons for the antigen presenting gene to decrease after the virus has infected the body. Make sure to be safe and wear a mask to protect yourself and others around you!
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