department of biochemistry and molecular biology<\/a>. \u201cThe influenza virus, for example, has a binding protein on its surface that recognizes specific glycan structures that are found at the surface of lung cells.\u201d<\/p>\nWhile there\u2019s no evidence that COVID-19 has a binding protein similar to influenza, it still has to negotiate with glycans at the surface of cells it infects, Tiemeyer said. The virus infects specialized epithelial cells, which line the body\u2019s airway and produce \u201cprodigious\u201d amounts of mucus.<\/p>\n
When someone is infected with COVID-19, epithelial cells in their submucosal gland, which secretes mucus, are compromised. The virus kills the mucus-producing epithelial cells, resulting in the infection\u2019s characteristic dry cough. Tiemeyer is working on defining glycan markers for normal submucosal gland function, which could be compared to a COVID-19 patient\u2019s reduced gland function.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf gland function in an individual is different, it may tell us how severe their expected disease course is, and it may tell us if they are more sensitive or less sensitive to the virus,\u201d Tiemeyer said. \u201cWe know there are differences from person to person, and some of those differences may lie in how their submucosal glands are functioning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tiemeyer is working with Richard Boucher, director of the Marisco Lung Institute at the University of North Carolina \u2013 Chapel Hill. Since the onset of the pandemic, Boucher has adjusted his lab specifically to study the lung physiology of COVID-19. He\u2019s able to grow human epithelial cells in culture dishes and collect clinical mucus samples from consenting patients, which he and Tiemeyer can study.<\/p>\n
Viral load, referring to the number of viral particles carried by an infected individual, is a useful indicator for identifying the severity of symptoms for someone infected by several viruses, like SARS. But for COVID-19, viral load thus far hasn\u2019t shown to be a useful predictor.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe jury is still out,\u201d Tiemeyer said. \u201cI think we still don\u2019t have enough data to be sure, but that means people want other ways to look at the infection besides viral load. Physicians would like some other marker they could use to say, \u2018This person needs more attention than this person, because their disease is more severe.\u2019 That\u2019s where we come in\u2014trying to molecularly identify changes in mucus and mucin glycosylation and understand how they relate to disease progression.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tiemeyer is currently in the first phase of his research, trying to define a normal pattern of infection. Once that\u2019s established, he and his team can investigate how the infection changes and correlates with disease severity.<\/p>\n
The ultimate goal of the research is to produce a saliva test, where a COVID-19 patient\u2019s mucus would be analyzed to determine if it fits a mucin glycosylation profile that would indicate a probable need for hospitalization. Tiemeyer said the test won\u2019t come to fruition during the current wave of infection but might exist in time for any future wave that may occur.<\/p>\n
Tiemeyer is currently applying for funding from the National Institutes of Health, which supports Boucher\u2019s research. Just like many other UGA researchers, Tiemeyer has worked quickly to convert his lab for studying COVID-19.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re shifting gears, trying to participate and finding funding as we can,\u201d Tiemeyer said. \u201cI\u2019m really impressed with how many people at UGA have been able to turn on a dime and apply their attention to a new area of research.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic,\u00a0researchers across the world are looking not only for a vaccine to combat the virus, but also better testing resources to find out both who is infected and how serious those infections may be. Michael Tiemeyer, Distinguished Research Professor in the University of Georgia\u2019s\u00a0Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, is trying … <\/p>\n
Continue reading “Could your saliva predict a COVID-19 hospitalization?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":30719,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[300],"tags":[],"post_medium":[314],"publications":[],"authors":[524],"photographers":[442],"video_credit":[],"takeaways":[],"class_list":["post-30718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-glycoscience","post_medium-read","authors-tyler-wilkins","photographers-peter-frey","entry"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30718"},{"taxonomy":"post_medium","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_medium?post=30718"},{"taxonomy":"publications","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publications?post=30718"},{"taxonomy":"authors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/authors?post=30718"},{"taxonomy":"photographers","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/photographers?post=30718"},{"taxonomy":"video_credit","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/video_credit?post=30718"},{"taxonomy":"takeaways","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/takeaways?post=30718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}