Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Jul 21, 2025 9 hours, 10 minutes ago
Medical News: COVID-19 Wreaks Havoc by Damaging the Body’s Power Generators
A new study from researchers in Taiwan has revealed how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, targets the mitochondria—tiny organelles often referred to as the power plants of human cells. According to scientists from Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, China Medical University’s An Nan Hospital, and Chang Jung Christian University, the virus severely disrupts mitochondrial function, triggering long-term health problems that may explain many lingering symptoms experienced in long COVID.
How COVID-19 Hijacks Mitochondria and Fuels Long Term Damage
Mitochondria are essential for energy production, immune defense, and regulating inflammation. This
Medical News report reveals that the virus interferes with these processes through specific viral proteins, leading to massive cellular energy failures, inflammation, and immune system malfunctions. These disruptions not only worsen acute infections but may also drive long-lasting fatigue, cognitive issues, and organ dysfunction in recovering patients.
SARS-CoV-2 Hijacks Cellular Engines
The study outlines that SARS-CoV-2 uses its non-structural proteins (like ORF3a, ORF9b, and ORF10) to damage mitochondria by disrupting calcium balance, blocking energy production (ATP), and causing mitochondrial swelling. This mitochondrial chaos creates a storm of reactive oxygen species (ROS)—toxic byproducts that fuel chronic inflammation throughout the body.
Worse still, the virus cleverly disables the body’s early antiviral defenses by attacking the MAVS pathway—a key mitochondrial signaling system that helps fight off infections. ORF9b, for instance, stops this pathway by binding to mitochondrial receptors and blocking interferon signals, making it easier for the virus to replicate undetected.
Why Some Organs Suffer More Than Others
The researchers found that different organs experience different types of mitochondrial damage. In the brain, for example, COVID causes severe oxidative stress, calcium imbalances, and neuroinflammation, particularly in energy-hungry regions like the cortex and hippocampus. This damage may explain the “brain fog” and memory problems common in long COVID. In the liver, disrupted mitochondrial processes lead to fat buildup, liver stress, and even injury.
Moreover, the virus rewires the body’s metabolism by shifting cells away from oxygen-based energy production (oxidative phosphorylation) toward less efficient glycolysis. This shift increases inflammation and decreases immune efficiency. The resulting changes—such as lactate buildup—can suppress the body’s antiviral interferon responses, worsening disease severity.
A Vicious Cycle of Inflammation
The study also highlights how damaged mitochondria leak molecular distress signals into the body, called damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), which furthe
r inflame tissues and organs. In essence, SARS-CoV-2 triggers a loop: damaged mitochondria cause inflammation, and inflammation causes more mitochondrial damage.
In severe cases, this results in cell death, immune suppression, and a heightened risk of blood clots and organ failure. Researchers suggest this mitochondrial attack may be a central driver of the long COVID crisis.
Hope for Future Therapies
The scientists suggest that targeting mitochondria directly—using antioxidants like MitoQ, or metabolic modulators such as AMPK activators—might reduce inflammation and support recovery. However, more clinical studies are needed to confirm the safety and effectiveness of such treatments in COVID-19 and long COVID patients.
In conclusion, this research underscores that SARS-CoV-2 does not merely affect the lungs—it rewires and cripples the body's cellular energy and immune infrastructure. The virus’s assault on mitochondria plays a major role in both the immediate severity of the disease and the lingering effects that continue to trouble millions globally. Understanding and reversing this mitochondrial damage could be key to better treatments for long COVID and other viral illnesses.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal:
Redox Biology.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213231725002794
For the latest COVID-19 News, keep on logging to Thailand
Medical News.
Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-mitochondria-damage-is-behind-long-covid-and-the-increased-risk-of-future-non-communicable-diseases
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/sars-cov-2-destroys-heart-cell-mitochondria-leading-to-dangerous-long-covid-cardiac-issues
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/sars-cov-2-spike-triggers-mitochondrial-chaos-and-lung-inflammation-in-long-covid-via-cox-2-palmitoylation
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