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Good cholesterol can be very bad in the case of corona

Researchers in China have demonstrated how the corona virus' prickly protein attaches to the cholesterol receptors in a cell and utilizes them to penetrate it, just like a key and a lock.

What does this say about the risk of someone having high cholesterol?

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• Corona

• covid-19

• Cholesterol

Walla!

health

Sunday, November 29, 2020, 3:30 p.m.

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HDL cholesterol, often referred to as "good cholesterol", helps the corona virus penetrate cells and infect them with covid-19 disease, according to a new study.

When the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes corona disease, enters the body, its prickly protein binds to ACE2 receptors in the host cell.

This mechanism works similarly to a lock and key, when the protein binds to the receptor the cell opens and allows the virus to penetrate into it.

However, the new study highlights the role of another receptor of the SR-B1 type, which is commonly linked to high-density lipoprotein (HDL), also known as "good cholesterol."

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In the study, published in the journal Nature Metabolism, researchers from the Military Academy of Medical Sciences in China demonstrated how the corona virus' prickly protein attaches to HDL cholesterol and takes over the cell's cholesterol absorption mechanism to promote its needs.

That is, penetrate into the cell and infect it with covid-19.

When the researchers blocked the SR-B1 receptor in the cells, it slowed down the penetration of the virus into the cell.

The corona virus takes over the cholesterol absorption mechanism of its needs and utilizes it for its own needs.

Imaging of Cholesterol in the Vessels (Illustration: ShutterStock)

The researchers performed this experiment only under laboratory conditions and Petri dishes, but they claim that this receptor is also found in cells in the lower respiratory tract, so it is likely that the process they demonstrated also takes place inside the body of a person infected with corona.

Cholesterol is a substance with a waxy texture that is found in the bloodstream and is produced mainly in the liver, and part of it is a product of nutrition.

High cholesterol is associated with a wide range of health problems and diseases, but it is not necessarily "bad" and the body needs it for a variety of important functions, such as building cell membranes, hormonal function and producing vitamin D.

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The present study is not necessarily another cause for concern for those suffering from pre-existing health conditions.

Some reports of this study have suggested that it may provide further explanation for the fact that people with metabolic disorders such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease are at increased risk for severe morbidity and death from covid-19.

Those same people are indeed at increased risk, however the reasons for this are more likely to be different and it is not necessarily related to their cholesterol.

At this point, the researchers demonstrated their claim only in petri dishes and in laboratory conditions.

A laboratory of the SinoVac company in which a vaccine for the corona virus is being developed in Beijing, China.

September 2020 (Photo: AP)

"We know that patients with heart disease and diabetes often have low levels of HDL cholesterol, so there is no significant link here," said Dr. Riaz Patel, a lecturer in cardiology at University College London, in response to the study's publication. Those with high HDL cholesterol will panic because in my opinion there is nothing in this study to suggest that corona poses a real increased risk to them.

"If anything, there are several factors known to contribute to high levels of HDL - such as exercise, which are known to reduce morbidity in general and in the case of corona," he added.

However, other experts believe otherwise, and the new study One of the interesting aspects about it is that it is ostensibly paving a new path for possible covid-19 treatments. This will not be an easy task to develop.

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