Coronavirus on the Rampage

What am I looking at?

This is a high-frequency time-lapse video of human cells infected with the coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2. As the video progresses, you can see these cells fusing together and dying due to the infection. You can also see several rounds of cell division, as a single cell becomes rounded and white and then splits into two; this is a normal process but one that can carry the virus to both daughter cells.

Biology in the background

SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that caused the global COVID-19 pandemic. The virus attaches itself to a cell via specialized proteins on its surface called spike proteins. Once attached, the viral membrane and cell membrane fuse, and the virus injects its viral genome into the cell. The virus then hijacks the cell’s machinery to produce more virus.

This process may cause infected cells to fuse, because they now express viral spike proteins on their surface. These fused cells can die and disintegrate, releasing all the newly produced viruses into the surrounding tissue. This allows the process to start over in the surrounding cells, resulting in more and more virus.

These epithelial cells can grow to be about 21 micrometers across, or roughly four times smaller than the width of a human hair.

Technique

This video was created using holotomographic microscopy.