Tozzi, A.; Peters, J.F.; Annesi-Maesano, I.; D'Amato, G. Collective Clustering Dynamics of SARS-COV-2 Particles. Preprints2020, 2020040296. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202004.0296.v1
APA Style
Tozzi, A., Peters, J.F., Annesi-Maesano, I., & D'Amato, G. (2020). Collective Clustering Dynamics of SARS-COV-2 Particles. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202004.0296.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Tozzi, A., Isabella Annesi-Maesano and Gennaro D'Amato. 2020 "Collective Clustering Dynamics of SARS-COV-2 Particles" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202004.0296.v1
Abstract
Collective spread of aggregated viral particles may have beneficial effects on viral capability to survive in the external environment, to counteract immune responses, and to successfully colonize host cells. Here we ask whether SARS-Cov-2 particles, responsible for COVID-19, display collective clustering behavior. Looking at microphotographs and movies of SARS-Cov-2 particles emerging from the surface of cultured cells, we describe single virions that tend to aggregate in progressively larger globular assemblies, until a network-like appearance is achieved. When SARS-Cov-2 particles stick into each other, the squeezing of single virions leads to improved viral package in host’s fluids. We discuss how these findings might explain both the ability to spread of SARS-Cov-2 and the clinical severity of COVID-19 in humans, paving the way to novel therapeutic strategies to mechanically disrupt collective clustering.
Keywords
COVID-19; supernatant; sphere packing; electron microscopy; clustering
Subject
Medicine and Pharmacology, Pathology and Pathobiology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
