VID-19 / VIRUS Bloomberg Businessweek March 16, 2020

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● Targeting humans

SARS-CoV-2 spikes bind

on the human cell surface

to receptors called

angiotensin-converting

enzyme 2 (ACE2).

● Infection sites

Human cells that

express ACE2 are

vulnerable to infection.

These are present along

the epithelium lining

the respiratory and

gastrointestinal tracts,

including on the tongue

and stomach.

● Lethal pneumonia

The vast surface area of

the lungs makes it highly

susceptible to inhaled

viruses, with the alveoli

sacs that help bring

oxygen into the blood

vulnerable to invasion.

● Latching on

The spikes latch on to

human cells and undergo

a structural change,

allowing their membrane

to fuse with the host

cell membrane. The viral

genes can then enter the

host cell and multiply.

know about

This is the particle responsible for Covid-19, the

pneumonia-causing disease spreading around the

world. The virus is called SARS-CoV-2, short for

severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.

�Jason Gale

▶ SARS-CoV-2

particles (red)

emerging from

the surface of

a human cell

(black).

◀ Like other

coronaviruses,

SARS-CoV-2 has

viral spike proteins,

called peplomers,

on its surface that

allow it to infect

human cells.

◀ Within the

“envelope” of the

virus is a long,

single-stranded

RNA genome.