SARS-CoV-2 Poorly Replicates in Cells of the Human Blood-Brain Barrier Without Associated Deleterious Effects.
Front Immunol
; 12: 697329, 2021.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1357529
ABSTRACT
Various neurological symptoms have been associated to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection including headache, fever, anosmia, ageusia, but also, encephalitis, Guillain-Barre syndrome and ischemic stroke. Responsible for the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 may access and affect the central nervous system (CNS) by several pathways such as axonal retrograde transport or through interaction with the blood-brain barrier (BBB) or blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barrier. Here, we explored the molecular and cellular effects of direct SARS-CoV-2 infection of human BBB cells. We observed low replication of SARS-CoV-2 that was accompanied by very moderate inflammatory response. Using a human in vitro BBB model, we also described low replication levels without strong inflammatory response or modulation of endothelium integrity. Finally, using serum samples from COVID-19 patients, we highlighted strong concentrations of pro-inflammatory factors that did not perturb BBB integrity after short term exposure. Altogether, our results show that the main mechanism of brain access following SARS-CoV-2 infection does not seem to be directed by brain infection through endothelial cells.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Virus Replication
/
Brain
/
Blood-Brain Barrier
/
Endothelial Cells
/
SARS-CoV-2
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Front Immunol
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Fimmu.2021.697329
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