A molecular single-cell lung atlas of lethal COVID-19.

ABSTRACT: Respiratory failure is the leading cause of death in patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 infection^1,2, but the host response at the lung tissue level is poorly understood. Here we performed single-nucleus RNA sequencing of about 116,000 nuclei from the lungs of nineteen individuals who died of COVID-19 and underwent rapid autopsy and seven control individuals. Integrated analyses identified substantial alterations in cellular composition, transcriptional cell states, and cell-to-cell interactions, thereby providing insight into the biology of lethal COVID-19. The lungs from individuals with COVID-19 were highly inflamed, with dense infiltration of aberrantly activated monocyte-derived macrophages and alveolar macrophages, but had impaired T cell responses. Monocyte/macrophage-derive

SUBMITTER: Melms JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8814825 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature