COVID-19 lessons from the dish: Dissecting CNS manifestations through brain organoids

EMBO J. 2021 Jan 15;40(2):e107213. doi: 10.15252/embj.2020107213. Epub 2020 Dec 2.

Abstract

COVID-19 is increasingly understood as a systemic disease with pathogenic manifestations beyond the respiratory tract. Recent work by Ramani et al (2020) dissects the cellular and molecular mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2's neurotrophic properties, using viral exposure of human brain organoids. Their findings highlight neurons as primary target of cerebral SARS-CoV-2 infection and uncover its Tau-related neurotoxicity.

MeSH terms

  • Brain / pathology*
  • Brain / virology*
  • COVID-19 / pathology*
  • Humans
  • Neurons / pathology
  • Neurons / virology
  • Organoids / pathology*
  • Organoids / virology
  • SARS-CoV-2 / pathogenicity
  • tau Proteins / metabolism*

Substances

  • tau Proteins