SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-mediated cardiomyocyte fusion may contribute to increased arrhythmic risk in COVID-19.
Daniel J ClemensDan YeWei ZhouC S John KimDavid R PeaseChanakha K NavaratnarajahAlison BarkhymerDavid J TesterTimothy J NelsonRoberto CattaneoJay W SchneiderMichael J AckermanPublished in: PloS one (2023)
The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein can directly perturb both the cardiomyocyte's repolarization reserve and intracellular calcium handling that may confer the intrinsic, mechanistic substrate for the increased risk of SCD observed during this COVID-19 pandemic.