Skip to main content
Fig. 1 | Translational Neurodegeneration

Fig. 1

From: Links between COVID-19 and Parkinson’s disease/Alzheimer’s disease: reciprocal impacts, medical care strategies and underlying mechanisms

Fig. 1

Putative mechanisms of the link between COVID-19 and Parkinson's disease (PD). With the aid of TMPRSS2, the S protein of SARS-CoV-2 binds with ACE2 to enter the host cell. The SARS-CoV-2 virus may affect the midbrain in the following ways: vascular damage (BBB breakdown), systemic inflammation, and direct neuroinvasion, which then induce neuroinflammation, excessive oxidative stress, abnormal immune response, and aggregation of α-synuclein, leading to dopaminergic neuronal death and PD. ACE2: angiotensin-converting enzyme 2; α-syn: a-synuclein; BBB: blood–brain barrier; COVID-19: Coronavirus disease 2019; NRP1: neuropilin 1; SARS-CoV-2: severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; TMPRSS2: transmembrane serine protease 2

Back to article page