AI Article Synopsis
- Several studies suggest that SARS-CoV-2 may infect retinal cells, but the details of this process are not fully understood.
- Research using retinal organoids derived from human stem cells shows that SARS-CoV-2 can infect various retinal cell types, leading to increased expression of inflammatory genes linked to COVID-19 and potential retinal damage.
- The study also found that blocking the ACE2 receptor with antibodies significantly reduces the virus's ability to infect retinal cells, highlighting the importance of monitoring retinal health in patients recovering from COVID-19.
Article Abstract
Several studies have pointed to retinal involvement in COVID-19, yet many questions remain regarding the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to infect and replicate in retinal cells and its effects on the retina. Here, we have used human pluripotent stem cell-derived retinal organoids to study retinal infection by SARS-CoV-2. Indeed, SARS-CoV-2 can infect and replicate in retinal organoids, as it is shown to infect different retinal lineages, such as retinal ganglion cells and photoreceptors. SARS-CoV-2 infection of retinal organoids also induces the expression of several inflammatory genes, such as interleukin 33, a gene associated with acute COVID-19 and retinal degeneration. Finally, we show that the use of antibodies to block ACE2 significantly reduces SARS-CoV-2 infection of retinal organoids, indicating that SARS-CoV-2 infects retinal cells in an ACE2-dependent manner. These results suggest a retinal involvement in COVID-19 and emphasize the need to monitor retinal pathologies as potential sequelae of "long COVID."
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Source |
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8943915 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.stemcr.2022.02.015 | DOI Listing |
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