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Writer's pictureJessie Hoover

Significance of GFP in the COVID-19 Pandemic



Jessie is going on to graduate school for forensics soon! Jessie has been a big help in the lab as a work-study. I seriously don't know how we will keep the heaps of dishes at bay without her. Yes, a lab has "dishes" to do too. I am sure that is one task she will be glad to get rid of. That, and maybe autoclaving all the "bugs."


Have you ever heard or seen a picture of an animal glowing, besides a jellyfish? If so then you most likely observed green fluorescent protein (GFP) at work! GFP is not restricted to the deep seas, it may have an application in COVID-19 research that could lead to a better understanding of the virus and indicate possible treatments. A deeper look at GFP’s potential to bring us out of the current state of the lockdown from COVID-19 may offer some of those who are going stir crazy a little hope for better days to come. This visual will provide some background information, along with some of GFP’s important aspects: https://create.piktochart.com/output/44740537-gfp.


History of GFP

GFP protein has been around longer than originally thought, and there are many scientists credited with its improvement. In the early 1960s, GFP was isolated by Osamu Shimomura, and its molecular function for jellyfish glowing was determined (Osamu, 2020). But, it was not until the late 1980s, that Douglas Prasher suggested that GFP could be of biological use to science as tracer and reporter molecules (Prasher, 2020). In 1994, Marty Chalfie and his associates inserted GFP into E. coli., the first organism to express it (Marty, 2020). In 1999, Sergey A. Lukyanov found a new type of protein (DsRed) that fluoresces red (Lukyanov, 2020). Between 2000 and 2010, with the aid of Roger Tsien, new mutations and colors of fluorescent proteins were found (Roger, 2020).


Contributors of GFP throughout its history. (From left to right: Osamu Shimomura, Douglas Prasher, Marty Chalfie, Sergey A. Lukyanov, and Roger Tsien). Source: https://www.conncoll.edu/ccacad/zimmer/GFP-ww/shimomura.html


Why GFP is Significant

Prasher indicated that GFP could be utilized in two ways: as tracer and reporter molecules. GFP as a tracer molecule refers to its ability to indicate protein expression in an organism. As a reporter molecule, GFP is inserted into a protein or other molecule of interest, and the protein or molecule’s movement in an organism is traced. In a real-life scenario, scientists could utilize GFP to determine how pathogens interact with a host cell. GFP is inserted into the pathogen and the pathogen can then be tracked through the host body, by visualizing the GFP under fluorescent microscopy. This technique would be useful when studying COVID-19.


COVID-19 is a new virus, only being roughly 5-6 months old, according to the documentation of the first recorded infection. Because of the novelty of the virus, there is currently not much information known about it. One piece of information that is known is the receptor the virus attaches to: angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) (Sheridan, 2020). A receptor is a protein on the surface of cells in an organism. The receptor is responsible for binding to a specific molecule in a cell’s environment, to produce a certain outcome. ACE2 is responsible for helping to lower blood pressure and is found in cells of the lung, heart, kidney, and digestive system (Sheridan, 2020). The location of the receptor, in many parts of the body, is the reason behind the variety of symptoms associated with the virus. The clock is ticking to find safe, effective treatments for the virus, now knowing the receptor affected.


As of the beginning of April, there are two drugs being tested to fight the virus. One drug alters the amount of ACE2 in the body, to prevent the virus from binding to it (Sheridan, 2020). Adding more ACE2 to the body may confuse the virus, causing COVID-19 to bind to the drug-provided ACE2, instead of the cell-attached ACE2. A second treatment involves silencing ACE2 throughout the body, so the virus cannot bind the receptor at all (Sheridan, 2020). Inserting GFP into COVID-19 can help analyze the efficiency of the drugs, and the virus’s reaction to the drugs can be displayed. Adding GFP to the virus in the first treatment scenario, would indicate whether COVID-19 bound to the drug-provided ACE2 or the cell-attached ACE2. A differently colored GFP could be added to the drug’s ACE2, to further contrast the difference of the ACE2 already in the body and the drug-provided ACE2. In the scenario of treatment 2, different colored GFPs can be inserted into the silenced ACE2 receptor and COVID-19. The receptor and virus can easily be visualized to establish if COVID-19 does not bind the receptor.

COVID-19 at the molecular level. Source: National Institute of Health and Infectious Diseases


Future of COVID-19

There is an uncertainty of the future that awaits us, with no treatments or vaccines currently available for COVID-19. Researchers are racing against the clock to find solutions to ease the worry and fear plaguing our society. GFP use could lead to a possible solution to abate this worry and fear. There has been no current mention of applying GFP to track the virus in humans, especially in investigating treatments, so it is crucial that its use be considered by scientists. GFP is a powerful contender to aid society’s return to normalcy by helping to stop COVID-19. Until we are able to return to that normalcy, everyone stay happy and healthy!

References

Sheridan, K. (2020, April 10). The coronavirus sneaks into cells through a key receptor. Could targeting it lead to a treatment?. STAT. Retrieved from https://www.statnews.com/2020/04/10/coronavirus-ace-2-receptor/

Zimmerman, M. (2020). Douglas Prasher. GFP. Retrieved from

https://www.conncoll.edu/ccacad/zimmer/GFP-ww/prasher.html

Zimmerman, M. (2020). Marty Chalfie. GFP. Retrieved from

https://www.conncoll.edu/ccacad/zimmer/GFP-ww/chalfie.html

Zimmerman, M. (2020). Osamu Shimomura. GFP. Retrieved from

https://www.conncoll.edu/ccacad/zimmer/GFP-ww/shimomura.html

Zimmerman, M. (2020). Roger Tsien. GFP. Retrieved from

https://www.conncoll.edu/ccacad/zimmer/GFP-ww/tsien.html

Zimmerman, M. (2020). Sergey A. Lukyanov. GFP. Retrieved from

https://www.conncoll.edu/ccacad/zimmer/GFP-ww/lukyanov.html

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