SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – New research from the UC San Diego School of Medicine shows how COVID-19 affects organs differently.
According to a study published in Stem Cell Reports, the disease recurs ten times more in the lungs than in the brain.
After all, it can be more harmful to the brain.
“Although viral infection is much less common in the brain, the lower infection has led to ways to kill those cells,” says Dr. Tariq Rana, the UC San Diego professor who led the study.
Dr. Rana’s laboratory used stem cells to create mini-organs of the brain and cells. They then infect the mini-organoids with a ‘pseudovirus’, a non-infectious version of SARS-CoV-2.
They found that the virus can bind to lung cells and repeat much more than in the brain.
However, the brain’s response to the virus may make it more dangerous for the Central Nervous System than previously thought.
When infected, the brain mini-organ increases the production of the TLR3 molecule, which helps to recognize diseases and activate immunity.
That molecule also helps facilitate programmed cell death.
“It can lead to toxic effects in the brain,” says Dr. Rana. He adds this may explain why people with COVID-19 report symptoms such as ‘brain fog’.
According to the CDC, 30% of people who get COVID-19 report a type of neurological problem.
Dr. Rana’s research led to a larger grant from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine to continue the study. Dr Rana says his laboratory will investigate treatment options.
They also plan to expand their research into stem cells of people of different ethnicities. He hopes to find out how the disease affects people differently based on their race.