SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, infects alveolar…
SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, infects alveolar cells in the lungs by binding a receptor on the lung cell’s surface known as ACE2. Some populations are more prone to severe effects from COVID-19. These include the elderly, and those who are immunocompromised, diabetic, have a chronic lung disease such as asthma, or have heart disease. However, there are currently NO populations that are immune to developing severe complications as young and otherwise healthy individuals have ended up on ventilators and dead. We do not know all of the reasons for this. One may be that some individuals have mutations in the gene that makes ACE2 receptors, changing the shape of the receptor slightly. The change in shape can either make SARS-CoV-2 better able to bind the cell (thus making it easier to infect), or it can make it more difficult to bind the cell (thus making it harder to infect). Another possible explanation that has been proposed is that the damage caused by the virus affects the lung’s ability to produce surfactant or the ability of surfactant to do its job. This is a multi-part question 1. Describe what surfactant is and discuss it’s role in the lungs 2. Name the cell type that produces surfactant and where that cell type is found 3. Discuss why insufficient levels of functioning surfactant would be more likely to cause severe respiratory distress for sufferers of COVID-19