Gina Since the beginning of the epidemic, scientists around the world have been trying to decipher the various characteristics of the SARS-Cove-2 virus. There are still no answers to many questions. For example, it’s unclear where the virus travels through the body and where it does the most damage.
Jena’s research team was able to gain significant new knowledge and develop a kind of Covid-19 atlas of tissue damage. Scientists recorded viral load in many organs and linked the spread of the virus to existing tissue damage.
For the study, the bodies of 11 patients who died of Covid-19 were examined. The study involved virologists, microbiologists, forensic pathologists and intensive care physicians from the University of Jena Hospital. The results are published in the online journal eLife Chest.
Tissue damage only in the lungs
As expected, the scientists found the viral RNA mainly in the lungs, and the tissue there was also badly affected. “Interestingly, we have also detected SARS-CoV-2 in several other organs, such as the digestive system, kidneys or heart vessels. But the virus only attacked lung tissue, ”said pathologist and co-author Daniel Wichiber.
To get a full picture of the disease in terms of microbiology and histology in the case of an extremely severe course, scientists performed an autopsy on the patient just hours after the appearance of death. In this way, the lysis processes in tissues and virus RNA can be minimized. For each patient, they documented the viral load of Sars-CoV-2 and markers of inflammation and tissue damage in more than 60 samples in different organs. They were able to detect healthy virus particles in lung tissue using electron microscopy images.
The results are important for drug development
With their study, which fully establishes the viral load and tissue damage in Covid-19 for the first time, Jena researchers confirm the systemic nature of the disease. Clinical observations, especially experience with Post-Covid Syndrome“Indicates Covid-19 is a disease that affects the whole body,” says microbiologist and study author Stephanie Dienhardt Emer. The fact that only lung tissue is damaged, but the virus is spreading throughout the body, supports the belief that our immune system cannot. “It responds appropriately to the presence of the virus in the blood. This is the real problem with Covid-19. ”
The results of a scientific study could now help develop more effective drugs against Covid-19 that target the areas where the emerging coronavirus is most likely to accumulate, according to the study. This allows the infection to be treated in a more targeted manner and thus more effectively and, in the best case, to prevent serious courses of treatment.
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