Richard Xu Wins Utica University Science Fair

Richard Xu, son of Bing Xu a research scientist in the Kontaridis Lab, recently won the Utica University Science Fair for his presentation based on the work he is currently doing under the guidance of Dr. Zhiqiang Lin.

His presentation examined the COVID-19 pandemic which brought increased attention to cardiovascular complications, including long COVID symptoms such as arrhythmias and heart failure. This study addresses the question “Does SARS-CoV-2 spike protein interact with ion channels in a way, potentially disrupting their function and contributing to arrhythmia development.”

Using AlphaFold3 computational modeling, they identified KCNQ1, KCNA5, and CACNA1C as top spike protein interaction candidates. Co-immunoprecipitation and colocalization imaging in HEK293T cells and mouse heart tissue confirmed their interaction between the spike protein and these ion channels, particularly at the cell membrane. Further structural analysis revealed distinct hydrogen-bonding patterns between the spike protein S1 subunit and S2 subunit and KCNA5. They identified a short peptide from KCNA5 disrupting its interaction between KCNA5 and the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

Functionally, spike protein expression significantly increases in KCNA5-mediated potassium currents, suggesting spike protein modulates KCNA5 function. This finding identifies KCNA5 as a novel spike protein binding partner, potentially contributing to COVID-19-related electrophysiological abnormalities. Targeting this interaction may offer a therapeutic strategy to mitigate SARS-CoV-2-associated cardiac arrhythmias.

Congratulations from everyone at MMRI, Richard!