Study Links Blood-clotting Protein to Impacts on Lungs, Brain in Acute and Long COVID Patients

Published September 26, 2024

 Credit: iStock

By Kimberly Mann Bruch, SDSC Communications

A new study co-authored by a team of California scholars – including Valentina Kouznetsova and Igor Tsigelny of the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at UC San Diego – has uncovered a critical factor behind the life-threatening blood clots and neurological symptoms seen in both acute COVID-19 patients and those suffering from long COVID. The study, which was recently published in Nature, found that fibrin – a protein essential for blood clotting – interacts with the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and forms inflammatory blood clots that contribute to serious complications in COVID-19 patients.

“Fibrin is normally involved in wound healing, but its overactivation during COVID-19 appears to fuel systemic inflammation and damage to both the lungs and the brain,” said Tsigelny, a research scientist at SDSC. “This study highlights that fibrin deposits are not only prevalent in the lungs of COVID-19 patients but also in their brains, correlating with disease severity and predicting cognitive decline in those suffering from long COVID.”

The research suggests that fibrin-driven inflammation may be the key to understanding the connection between COVID-19, clotting issues and lasting neurological effects. Because fibrin promotes oxidative stress and activates immune cells in the lungs, it can lead to dangerous inflammation. Similarly, in the brain, fibrin triggers neuroinflammation and neuronal damage – even after a COVID-19 infection has subsided.

“We elucidated the docking process of the viral protein with fibrinogen,” said Kouznetsova, an SDSC research scientist. “These results direct to the possible point of implementation of interface inhibitors for treatment of these conditions.”

Tsigelny said that this discovery offers new hope for effective treatments for COVID-19's clotting and neurological complications – areas where current medical options have been insufficient. With these findings, the scientists believe they are one step closer to a therapy that could prevent the damaging effects of the virus on both the cardiovascular and nervous systems.