Early Postmortem Mapping of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Patients with COVID-19 and the Correlation with Tissue Damage

Overview

Journal Elife

Specialty Biology

Date 2021 Mar 30

PMID 33781385

Citations 68

Authors

Stefanie Deinhardt-Emmer

Daniel Wittschieber

Juliane Sanft

Sandra Kleemann

Stefan Elschner

Karoline Frieda Haupt

Vanessa Vau

Clio Haring

Jurgen Rodel

Andreas Henke

Christina Ehrhardt

Michael Bauer

Mike Philipp

Nikolaus Gassler

Sandor Nietzsche

Bettina Loffler

Gita Mall

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Clinical observations indicate that COVID-19 is a systemic disease. An investigation of the viral distribution within the human body and its correlation with tissue damage can aid in understanding the pathophysiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection. We present a detailed mapping of the viral RNA in 61 tissues and organs of 11 deceased patients with COVID-19. The autopsies were performed within the early postmortem interval (between 1.5 and 15 hr, mean: 5.6 hr) to minimize the bias due to viral RNA and tissue degradation. Very high viral loads (>10copies/ml) were detected in most patients' lungs, and the presence of intact viral particles in the lung tissue could be verified by transmission electron microscopy. Interestingly, viral RNA was detected throughout various extrapulmonary tissues and organs without visible tissue damage. The dissemination of SARS-CoV-2-RNA throughout the body supports the hypothesis that there is a maladaptive host response with viremia and multiorgan dysfunction.

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