Cell-Cell Fusion Could Play a Key Role in the SARS-CoV-2 Infection Process

Nanolive Imaging reveals the fate of infected cells

This video captured by Professor Olivier Schwartz and his team at the Virus and Immunity lab at the prestigious Pasteur Institute in Paris using a Nanolive CX-A shows  the response of cells to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Their studies were aimed at understanding how the virus enters cells and what happens once a cell becomes infected. Using the Nanolive CX-A, they were able to exploit its unique capabilities to capture the dynamic responses of living cells to viruses which revealed the cell-cell fusion behaviour of infected cells.

The video on the right is comprised of imaged taken every 10 minutes over a 20 hour period. The shocking impact that SARS-Cov2 has on cell fate is quite clear to see, with cells fusing withg neighbouring cells forming large multi-nucleated cells, a process called syncytia formation.

With proven expertise with other viruses such as HIV, Zika and dengue, Prof. Schwarz and his team turned their attention to the SARS-Cov2 virus following the ourbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Their research was carried out in a P3 L3 laboratory.

The Nanolive CX-A for label-free live cell imaging
The Nanolive CX-A

Prof. Schwarz was interviewed and spoke about his research on SARS-Cov2 and his experience working with the Nanolive CX-A.

Our preliminary results are striking and amazing because we have unprecedented details about the cellular organisation, the organelles, the nuclei, the nucleotides, the cytoskeleton, the mitochondria, the lipid droplets, the golgi apparatus and the e.r.

Prof. Oliver Schwarz, Institut Pasteur