Question

Answer the following questions about COVID.

1. What is the name of the virus and the disease it causes?  

2. Describe this virus in terms of what kind of genetic material it has and whether or not it is enveloped?  

3. Where in your cell will this virus replicate?  

4. What is pneumonia?

5. The spikes of the virus will attach to what receptors in our alveoli in our lungs?  

6. What is ACE2?  Describe its function.  What role does this have in inflammation?  

Answer 1

The covid-19 virus name is SARS-Co-V 19 it belongs to the SARS virus family . SARS-Co-V 19 originated in China in 2019. It causes respiratory disease in which a person is unable to get proper oxygen.

It is an enveloped virus and spikes protrude from the surface of it.these spikes bind to human cell and infect them.the spikes are made of S-protein that are similar to the others members of family. SARS-Co-V 2 has RNA as a genetic material.

RNA of SARS-Co-V 2 travels the ribosomes of our own cells and hijacks them to create its own viral proteins.

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung affecting primarily the small air sacs known as alveoli.It is caused due to viral or bacterial infection.

The spikes contain RBD at the base of it which binds to Angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 or ACE-2 receptors of alveoli cells.

ACE-2 is receptor on our cell surface that the coronavirus binds to cause fusion. Extensive hydrogen bonding network is present at the side of RBD(virus)- ACE-2 (host cell's) junction.ACE hydrolyzes peptides by the removal of a dipeptide from the C-terminal. This molecule as a was earlier called pro-inflammatory and recently as a possible pro-fibrotic agent that

contributes to progressive deterioration of organ function in disease. Binding of Ang II to its receptors mediates intracellular free radical generation that contributes to tissue damage by promoting mitochondrial dysfunction