Originally Posted by
IlPrincipeBrutto
In very imprecise words:
Apparently, the SARS-CoV2 virus has got two spike-like structures, S1 and S2, joined in the middle by a furin cleavage; that's a zip-like mechanism that affects which of the two parts becomes predominant in the virus' behaviour. One spike affects how easily the virus spreads, the other how serious the consequent infection is. Depending on the position of the furin 'zip', the virus can oscillate from difficult to spread but serious, to mild but very contagious.
Control of the furin cleavage is, according to some, one of the main keys to controlling the infection; in some virus mutations, the mechanism is affected by the level of zinc in the body; this explains why for some variants, HCQ, azytromicine and zinc supplements seem to have had a positive effect on patients that got the virus. This might change in future variants, so it will be important to find out which other mineral affects the furin's mechanism.
Important note: furin-based mechanisms control a lot of other metabolic cell processes, so just blocking it altogether is a no-no; a way needs to be found to block the specific furin cleavage in the SARS virus, without affecting the other furin-based mechanisms that are essential for the normal functioning of human cells.
The importance of the furin cleavage is that its presence, and its position (in the middle of the two spike parts) is new for SARS-like viruses. Apparently, no natural SARS-like virus has got a mechanism like that, placed exactly in that position, and acting in precisely that way.
According to some, this would suggest that the origin of the virus might not be entirely natural; in other, more tranchant words, some people think that the furin cleavage was placed there on purpose.
IPB