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Fig. 2 | Bioelectronic Medicine

Fig. 2

From: Is the post-COVID-19 syndrome a severe impairment of acetylcholine-orchestrated neuromodulation that responds to nicotine administration?

Fig. 2

(nAChR competition of ACh, SARS-CoV-2 and nicotine): Membrane-bound neuro-modulatory nAChRs get attached to SARS-CoV-2 viruses in a non-intrinsic fashion, displacing the natural ligand (ACh) and thereby substantially compromising neuro-modulatory cholinergic signaling (A). Due to the high affinity of nicotine to nAChRs, the virus is extruded from the attachment to nAChRs by nicotine, thus neutralizing the blockade of cholinergic neuro-modulatory signal transmission (B). Since long-haul COVID patients have pre-formed SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies, the released viruses are captured by these antibodies, thereby preventing active reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 (C). Both the high intrinsic activity of nicotine at nAChR and the nicotinic up-regulation of nAChRs lead to the re-establishment of ACh-borne neuromodulation (D)

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