Intrinsic factors behind long‐COVID: II. SARS‐CoV‐2, extracellular vesicles, and neurological disorders

Abstract

AbstractWith the decline in the number of new Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infections, the World Health Organization announced the end of the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic. However, the repercussions of this viral pandemic may remain with us for a longer period of time, as it has remodeled the lives of humankind in many ways, including social and economic. Of course, its most important repercussions remain on the human health level. Long‐coronavirus disease (COVID) or post‐COVID is a state for which we do not have a concrete definition, a specific international classification of diseases Code, clear diagnostic tools, or well‐known effective cures as of yet. In this second article from the Intrinsic Factors behind long‐COVID Series, we try to link long‐COVID symptoms with their causes, starting from the nervous system. Extracellular vesicles (ECVs) play very complex and ramified roles in the bodies of both healthy and not‐healthy individuals. ECVs may facilitate the entry of many bioactive molecules and pathogens into the tissues and cells of the nervous system across the blood–brain barrier. Based on the size, quantity, and quality of their cargo, ECVs are directly proportional to the pathological condition and its severity through intertwined mechanisms that evoke inflammatory immune responses typically accompanied by pathological symptoms over variable time periods according to the type of these symptoms.