TY - JOUR
AU - Paul, Tanja
AU - Ledderose, Stephan
AU - Bartsch, Harald
AU - Sun, Na
AU - Soliman, Sarah
AU - Märkl, Bruno
AU - Ruf, Viktoria
AU - Herms, Jochen
AU - Stern, Marcel
AU - Keppler, Oliver T.
AU - Delbridge, Claire
AU - Müller, Susanna
AU - Piontek, Guido
AU - Kimoto, Yuki Schneider
AU - Schreiber, Franziska
AU - Williams, Tracy Ann
AU - Neumann, Jens
AU - Knösel, Thomas
AU - Schulz, Heiko
AU - Spallek, Ria
AU - Graw, Matthias
AU - Kirchner, Thomas
AU - Walch, Axel
AU - Rudelius, Martina
PY - 2022
DA - March
TI - Adrenal tropism of SARS-CoV-2 and adrenal findings in a post-mortem case series of patients with severe fatal COVID-19
JO - Nature Communications
VL - 13
DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29145-3
AB - Progressive respiratory failure and hyperinflammatory response is the primary cause of death in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Despite mounting evidence of disruption of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis in COVID-19, relatively little is known about the tropism of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to adrenal glands and associated changes. Here we demonstrate adrenal viral tropism and replication in COVID-19 patients. Adrenal glands showed inflammation accompanied by inflammatory cell death. Histopathologic analysis revealed widespread microthrombosis and severe adrenal injury. In addition, activation of the glycerophospholipid metabolism and reduction of cortisone intensities were characteristic for COVID-19 specimens. In conclusion, our autopsy series suggests that SARS-CoV-2 facilitates the induction of adrenalitis. Given the central role of adrenal glands in immunoregulation and taking into account the significant adrenal injury observed, monitoring of developing adrenal insufficiency might be essential in acute SARS-CoV-2 infection and during recovery.
PB - Springer Nature
UR - https://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/en/publications/40b950b3-ba09-478b-a24c-7f3bb9be3a8e
KW - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
ER