Blood-clotting protein may be SARS-CoV-2's hidden accomplice, helping it hide from antibodies and reach blood vessels
Researchers hypothesize that the blood-clotting protein fibrinogen may help SARS-CoV-2 evade the immune system and damage blood vessels. By binding to the virus, fibrinogen could act as a shield against antibodies while simultaneously tethering the virus to endothelial cells.
Why it matters
This mechanistic explanation could provide new insights into the causes of severe COVID-19 and long COVID, potentially leading to new therapeutic targets.
edited by Lisa Lock , reviewed by Robert Egan
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Add as preferred source Credit: ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science (2026). DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.6c00452 Fibrinogen, the abundant plasma protein best known for forming blood clots, may play a second and far less benign role during SARS-CoV-2 infection: acting as a molecular bridge that simultaneously hides the virus from neutralizing antibodies and delivers it to the cells lining blood vessels.
That is the hypothesis put forward by Saroj Kumar Panda (Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at Arlington), Shashi Singh, and Parth Sarthi Sen Gupta (School of Biosciences and Bioengineering, D Y Patil International University, Pune) in a Viewpoint article published in ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science .
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