Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Antigens in the AV-Node of a Cardiac Conduction System-A Case Report

Hrvoje Jakovac; Antun Ferenčić; Christophe Stemberger; Bojana Mohar Vitezić; Dražen Cuculić

doi:10.3390/tropicalmed7030043

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Antigens in the AV-Node of a Cardiac Conduction System-A Case Report

Trop Med Infect Dis. 2022 Mar 4;7(3):43. doi: 10.3390/tropicalmed7030043.

Authors

Hrvoje Jakovac¹, Antun Ferenčić², Christophe Stemberger³, Bojana Mohar Vitezić⁴, Dražen Cuculić²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physiology, Immunology and Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia.
² Department of Forensic Medicine and Criminalistics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia.
³ Department of Pathology, Clinical Hospital Centre Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia.
⁴ Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia.

Abstract

Mounting evidence indicates that new arrhythmic events frequently occur during and after coronavirus disease (COVID-19), posing additional mortality risk in older-aged and critically ill patients. However, the underlying mechanisms and cardio pathological substrates of COVID-related arrhythmias have not been clarified yet. Here, we report findings of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antigens and genes in the atrioventricular node (AV-node) of a cardiac conduction system, pointing to its direct infection as a possible arrhythmogenic factor.

Keywords: AV-node; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; cardiac arrhythmia; cardiac conduction system; nucleocapsid protein; spike protein.

Publication types

Case Reports