Case Report: The Carotid Body in COVID-19: Histopathological and Virological Analyses of an Autopsy Case Series.

ABSTRACT: Various authors have hypothesized carotid body (CB) involvement in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), through direct invasion or indirect effects by systemic stimuli ('cytokine storm', angiotensin-converting enzyme [ACE]1/ACE2 imbalance). However, empirical evidence is limited or partial. Here, we present an integrated histopathological and virological analysis of CBs sampled at autopsy from four subjects (2 males and 2 females; age: >70 years old) who died of COVID-19. Histopathological, immunohistochemical and molecular investigation techniques were employed to characterize Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) viral invasion and inflammatory reaction. SARS-CoV2 RNA was detected in the CBs of three cases through Real-Time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain R

SUBMITTER: Porzionato A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8576382 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature