SARS-CoV-2 induces blood-brain barrier and choroid plexus barrier impairments and vascular inflammation in mice.

ABSTRACT: The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to more than 700 million confirmed cases and nearly 7 million deaths. Although severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus mainly infects the respiratory system, neurological complications are widely reported in both acute infection and long-COVID cases. Despite the success of vaccines and antiviral treatments, neuroinvasiveness of SARS-CoV-2 remains an important question, which is also centered on the mystery of whether the virus is capable of breaching the barriers into the central nervous system. By studying the K18-hACE2 infection model, we observed clear evidence of microvascular damage and breakdown of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Mechanistically, SARS-CoV-2 infection caused pericyte damage, tight ju

SUBMITTER: Qiao H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11446308 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature