Tau protein aggregation associated with SARS-CoV-2 main protease

Abstract

The primary function of virus proteases is the proteolytic processing of the viral polyprotein. These 16 enzymes can also cleave host cell proteins, which is important for viral pathogenicity, modulation of 17 cellular processes, viral replication, the defeat of antiviral responses and modulation of the immune 18 response. It is known that COVID-19 can influence multiple tissues or organs and that infection can 19 damage the functionality of the brain in multiple ways. After COVID-19 infections, amyloid-β, 20 neurogranin, tau and phosphorylated tau were detected extracellularly, implicating possible 21 neurodegenerative processes.