Olfactory transmucosal #SARS-CoV-2 invasion as a port of central nervous system entry in individuals with COVID-19 | Nature Neuroscience
▻https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-020-00758-5
Étude post-mortem sur des humains.
... experts from the fields of neuropathology, pathology, forensic medicine, virology and clinical care studied tissue samples from 33 patients (average age 72) who had died at either Charité or the University Medical Center Göttingen after contracting COVID-19. Using the latest technology, the researchers analyzed samples taken from the deceased patients’ olfactory mucosa and from four different brain regions. Both the tissue samples and distinct cells were tested for SARS-CoV-2 genetic material and a ’spike protein’ which is found on the surface of the virus. The team provided evidence of the virus in different neuroanatomical structures which connect the eyes, mouth and nose with the brain stem. The olfactory mucosa revealed the highest viral load. Using special tissue stains, the researchers were able to produce the first-ever electron microscopy images of intact coronavirus particles within the olfactory mucosa . These were found both inside nerve cells and in the processes extending from nearby supporting (epithelial) cells.