The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein can form amyloids seen in lung, blood, and nervous system disorders

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.
What is amyloid?
Amyloids are tube-like proteins that are small in size. About 7-13 nanometers in diameter. One centimeter is 10,000,000 nanometers. One inch is 25,400,000 nanometers.

Amyloid and diseases

Amyloids are linked to diseases. The most well-known condition associated with amyloid protein accumulation is Alzheimer’s disease, where progressive memory loss occurs. Amyloids are seen in several COVID-19 complications.
Respiratory System
The amyloid buildup is also found in COVID-19. The review, Likelihood of amyloid formation in COVID-19-induced ARDS, discussed the mechanism on how amyloid can form in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome or ARDS in severe COVID-19. In ARDS, mechanical ventilation is used for life support as oxygen levels drop, and [1]
Blood clots
Amyloid can be found in the blood of COVID-19 patients, [1] where it can trigger the formation of blood clots.[2] Some COVID-19 patients have blood clots in the lungs that are resistant to blood thinners. [3][4]
Typically, patients with blood clots either in the lungs or the legs get better with blood thinners. In the case of COVID-19, some blood clots persist and prevent adequate oxygen supply, thus contributing to organ failure.
Nervous system
The spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 can cause amyloid-forming proteins like Aß (beta-amyloid), along with a-synuclein, tau, prion, and d TAR DNA binding protein-43 (TDP-43) accumulation in the brain and explain the neurodegeneration seen in COVID-19 patients.[4]. These proteins can also explain the symptoms of Long COVID syndrome.

Study shows spike proteins as an amyloid source.

A study from Linköping University in Sweden, Amyloidogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein, was recently published as a preprint in bioRxiv.[5]
The authors Sofie Nyström and Per Hammarström were able to separate several amyloids from the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
All proteins are made of amino acids, and it takes 20 amino acids to make a protein. The spike protein has 1,273 amino acids, which means the long spike protein can be cut into shorter proteins.
Proteins are cut into smaller pieces by a protease enzyme. Inside the human body, neutrophils make proteases.
Neutrophils are the most abundant white blood cells and are the frontline defense against infections. Neutrophil elastase is an enzyme from neutrophils, and its purpose is to break down the proteins of invading germs.
In the study, the authors incubated the spike protein with neutrophil elastase at 37° centigrade (average body temperature) for 24 hours.
The result of the incubation is three 20-amino acid long peptides that fulfilled the criteria for amyloid.
The figure below shows the amyloid fibrils formed after incubating the spike protein and neutrophil elastase for 24 hours at 37° centigrade.
Nyström et al.
That is the first study that showed how amyloid could form from spike proteins. One can say that it is only a laboratory study. Does it happen in real life?

Case report: Amyloid after COVID vaccination

A 70-year-old man went for Alzheimer’s disease and cardiac amyloidosis imaging. The test included the head and the chest.

The imaging test is  [18F]Florbetaben PET/CT (Positron Emission Tomography/computed tomography). The Florbetaben PET/CT is used to diagnose Alzheimer’s dementia by identifying amyloid in the brain and cardiac amyloidosis. [6]

A day before, the man received the first dose of a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in his right arm. During the test, the dye for the procedure was injected into the left arm.

What happened next surprised the doctors. Amyloid was detected on the right shoulder where the Pfizer shot was injected and on a lymph node on the same side. The arrows on the images below show the amyloid.

Laudicella et al.

The authors did not comment about the green in the spinal column in the middle if they are related to the shot. Still, they concluded that the patient has cardiac amyloid (probably preexisting to the jab).

The Pfizer shot introduces spike protein mRNA, which forms spike proteins in the muscles. The neutrophils break down the spike proteins with neutrophil elastase and release amyloids as a response to the spike protein. The spike proteins also elicit an immune response.

This may be incidental, but the discovery shows that amyloid can form and spread after COVID shots in humans and gives more credence to the Swedish findings mentioned above.

How to get rid of amyloid?

There are no medicines to get rid of amyloid in the body—however, intermittent fasting and adequate sleep can remove amyloid.

When someone does not eat for several hours, the body will break down useless, precancerous, and old proteins. The resulting amino acids are recycled to make new and valuable proteins by autophagy. [7] The article, Autophagy – How to Recycle Yourself talked about that. 

Adequate sleep, especially on the right side, opens the brain’s drainage system called glymphatics and washes the amyloid proteins away. I talked about that in Sleeping on Your Side can Prevent dementia. 
Sleeping has many other health benefits to the brain. How Does Sleeping Protect the Brain?
If you have problems with sleep and don’t want to take a sleeping pill, learn from 30 Ways For a Good Sleep Without Drugs
In summary, amyloid proteins can form from COVID-19 and COVID shots. The amyloids produced to contribute to the severity of an acute COVID-19. Spike protein injections can lead to blood clot formation and neurodegenerative disease in the future.
Intermittent fasting and adequate sleep can help protect against amyloid-related diseases.

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Related:
  1. Circulation: Myocarditis related to COVID-19 shots in teenagers and young adults
  2. Retinal complications after COVID shots
  3. UK Study of COVID-19 shots and Excess Rates of Guillain-Barré Syndrome
  4. mRNA Vaccination Increases the Risk of Acute Coronary Syndrome
  5. German Analysis: The Higher the Vaccination Rate, the Higher the Excess Mortality
  6. Anti-Idiotype Antibodies against the Spike Proteins may Explain Myocarditis
  7. Donor Blood Can Have Spike Protein Exosomes
  8. COVID Vaccines are Non-Sterilizing and Can Lead to More Infectious Variants
  9. Where are the Dialysis Patients?
  10. The A.30 SARS-CoV-2 Variants Can Evade Vaccine-Induced Antibodies
  11. Is Luc Montagnier Correct About the Variants Showing Up After Mass Vaccination?
  12. Guillain-Barre Syndrome After Covid-19 Vaccination
  13. Study: SARS-CoV-2 Spike Proteins Impaired DNA Repair That Can Lead to Defective Immunity and Cancers
References:
  1. Sinha N, Thakur AK. Likelihood of amyloid formation in COVID-19-induced ARDS. Trends Microbiol. 2021 Nov;29(11):967-969. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2021.03.008. Epub 2021 Mar 29. PMID: 33795156; PMCID: PMC8007089.
  2. Maas C et al. Misfolded proteins activate factor XII in humans, leading to kallikrein formation without initiating coagulation. J Clin Invest. 2008 Sep;118(9):3208-18. doi: 10.1172/JCI35424. PMID: 18725990; PMCID: PMC2518075.
  3. Grobbelaar LM et al. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein S1 induces fibrin(ogen) resistant to fibrinolysis: implications for microclot formation in COVID-19. Biosci Rep. 2021;41(8):BSR20210611. doi:10.1042/BSR20210611
  4. Idrees D et al. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein interactions with amyloidogenic proteins: Potential clues to neurodegeneration. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2021;554:94-98. doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2021.03.100
  5. Sofie Nystrom, Per Hammarstrom. Amyloidogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein. bioRxiv 2021.12.16.472920; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.16.472920
  6. Laudicella et al., Subcutaneous Uptake on [18F]Florbetaben PET/CT: a Case Report of Possible Amyloid‐Beta Immune‐Reactivity After COVID‐19 Vaccination. SN Compr Clin Med, 2021: p. 1‐3.
  7. Mputhia Z et al. Autophagy Modulation as a Treatment of Amyloid Diseases. Molecules. 2019;24(18):3372. Published 2019 Sep 16. doi:10.3390/molecules24183372

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