Stealthy Invaders: How SARS-CoV-2 Evades Our Defenses and Spreads

On January 6, 2023, a recentCell Discoverystudy, jointly spearheaded by scientists from the CAS Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica,Wuhan Institute of Virology and Kunming Institute of Zoology, reveals a new way that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, evades our immune system and spreads.The virus uses a mechanism involving extracellular vesicles (EVs) to transmit itself from cell to cell, effectively hiding from neutralizing antibodies.

The researchers found that the SARS-CoV-2 virus induces the formation of EVs in infected cells.These EVs,which are much larger than previously reported virusgenerated vesicles, contain large amounts of live virus particles.The virus uses these vesicles as a Trojan horse,hiding inside them to escape detection by neutralizing antibodies.Once inside a new cell, the virus can then establish an infection, all the while remaining hidden from the immune system.It’s like the virus is using a stealth bomber to get past our defenses.This discovery provides a new perspective on how the virus resists current antibody therapies and vaccines, and it could potentially guide the development of future antiviral treatments.