Spike protein was found to enter cardiomyocytes in vitro, and cytotoxicity was detected at 24 hours post exposure, and “profound cytopathogenic effects” were visible at 96 hours in cardiomyocytes. [36]
The spike protein alone of SARS-CoV-2 has been found to have damaging effects on endothelial function. [37] In fact, the spike protein alone was found to produce pro-apoptotic factors that were determined by researchers to be responsible for endothelial cell death. [38] Endothelial cells that were treated with the spike protein showed mitochondrial fragmentation and dysmorphic changes, as well as reduced mitochondrial respiration with redox stress, but increased glycolysis, and it was shown that the S protein alone damaged endothelial cells by this mechanism. [39] Interestingly, in those in vitro studies, cell function was found to be restored by adding N-acetyl-L-cysteine, which is a reactive oxygen species inhibitor.
The spike protein has been found, without other viral elements, to stimulate cell signaling in human cardiac pericytes that has been associated with cardiac cell dysfunction. Some of this dysfunction includes findings of increased amounts of the following pro-inflammatory cytokines (those involved in cytokine storms) in cardiac pericytes on in vitro exposure to S protein: MCP1, IL-6, IL-1B and TNF-alpha. [40] TNF-alpha is specifically associated with heart failure and myocarditis. [41]
Caspase-3 is associated with apoptosis. When coronary artery endothelial cells were exposed to spike protein, they were found to have increased Caspase 3/7 activity, which was correlated with pro-apoptotic effect. Some of the above activity was through the ACE-2 receptor, but more data showed involvement of the CD-147 receptor on those cells, [42] and we have seen above that both pathways are used by spike proteins for cell entry. The cell death experienced in myocarditis seems likely to be at least partly due to this activity.
Electrocardiogram (EKG) abnormalities have also been found following COVID vaccine administration. This includes diffuse ST elevation and an inverted T-wave in lead III, as well as sinus tachycardia. [43]
A summary of expected effects after COVID vaccination is in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Summary of cardiovascular events following COVID vaccination
Discussion
The pathways discussed herein are inevitable routes of spike protein transit in the body and in the cells. ACE2 receptors are abundant in every known cell type. When spike proteins have been introduced to the body, either through the SARS-CoV-2 virus or by means of the mRNA COVID vaccines, is there any realistic way possible to block their interaction with ACE2 receptors in any individual? In the case of acute infection with SARS-CoV-2, infected individuals have a self-limiting encounter with spike proteins, which may be thwarted by some of the therapeutics mentioned above. However, in the case of the mRNA-vaccinated, no endpoint of spike protein production is yet known. Nor is it yet known if it is safe to use any of the spike protein blocking therapeutics in vaccinated individuals.
In the absence of extraordinary and deliberate measures to block ACE2 receptors and CD147 receptors and/or Caspase 3/7 activity, is it then possible to expect that cardiac pericytes and endothelial cells could escape the pro-inflammatory and pro-apoptotic effects of the spike protein, especially considering that protein’s perpetual regeneration in vaccinated people? Could a therapeutic be invented for vaccinated people to protect their cardiomyocytes and pericytes from spike protein damage, and to be dosed frequently enough to combat the body’s ongoing spike protein production? If such an expectation is not realistic, then mRNA vaccines that prepare human cells to generate an unknown supply of spike proteins for an unknown amount of time are to be treated with extreme caution and avoidance until better understood. It is also necessary to defer further vaccination until there are known methods of both discharge of such proteins and the mechanism to turn off or attenuate mRNA-induced spike proteins, and/or to safely thwart the destructive effects of spike proteins in host cells.
We must also urgently learn the answer to the following question: Is the human recipient of a spike protein-generating mRNA vaccine reasonably expected to continue to generate spike proteins for an indefinite amount of time? Or even permanently? We need to know this, because the spike protein has been shown to have deleterious effects, and because myocarditis, which seems to be one of those effects, is now being observed in some vaccinated individuals, the mechanisms of which are discussed in this paper. There is observed precedent for mRNA medical treatments to have lasting effect on DNA, [44] which impacts future as well as present generations. Questions involving such serious potential consequences for human health must be answered, and standards of safety and informed consent must be met, before an ambitious and experimental procedure on the massive scale we are witnessing is deployed on populations. As a result, vaccines of this type must be avoided until these questions are thoroughly resolved, in order to prevent further harm to human health.
[1] US Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Clinical considerations: Myocarditis and pericarditis after receipt of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines among adolescents and young adults. May 28 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/myocarditis.html