SARS-CoV-2 Spike Variants Differentially Rewire Cytoskeletal Architecture in Human Cardiomyocytes

Background/Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in more than 7.11 million deaths worldwide and has been associated with numerous extrapulmonary complications, including cardiovascular dysfunction. Although severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) primarily targets the respiratory system, increasing evidence suggests that viral components may directly affect cardiac cells and contribute to long-term cardiovascular sequelae. In this study, we investigated the effects of recombinant spike proteins from the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variants on the cytoskeletal organization and proteomic landscape of human AC16 cardiomyocytes.