Laboratory of Virology, Department of Microbiology, CHRU Nancy, Université de Lorraine, F-54000 Nancy, France.
CNRS, LCPME, Université de Lorraine, F-54000 Nancy, France.
Viruses. 2022 Mar 3;14(3):515. doi: 10.3390/v14030515.
Although the respiratory tract is the main target of SARS-CoV-2, other tissues and organs are permissive to the infection. In this report, we investigated this wide-spectrum tropism by studying the SARS-CoV-2 genetic intra-host variability in multiple tissues. The virological and histological investigation of multiple specimens from a post-mortem COVID-19 patient was performed. SARS-CoV-2 genome was detected in several tissues, including the lower respiratory system, cardio-vascular biopsies, stomach, pancreas, adrenal gland, mediastinal ganglion and testicles. Subgenomic RNA transcripts were also detected, in favor of an active viral replication, especially in testicles. Ultra-deep sequencing allowed us to highlight several SARS-CoV-2 mutations according to tissue distribution. More specifically, mutations of the spike protein, i.e., V341A (18.3%), E654 (44%) and H655R (30.8%), were detected in the inferior vena cava. SARS-CoV-2 variability can contribute to heterogeneous distributions of viral quasispecies, which may affect the COVID-19 pathogeny.
虽然呼吸道是 SARS-CoV-2 的主要靶标，但其他组织和器官也允许感染。在本报告中，我们通过研究多种组织中 SARS-CoV-2 的遗传内宿主变异性来研究这种广谱嗜性。对一名 COVID-19 死后患者的多个标本进行了病毒学和组织学研究。在下呼吸道、心血管活检、胃、胰腺、肾上腺、纵隔神经节和睾丸等多种组织中检测到了 SARS-CoV-2 基因组。亚基因组 RNA 转录本也被检测到，表明存在活跃的病毒复制，尤其是在睾丸中。超深度测序使我们能够根据组织分布突出显示几种 SARS-CoV-2 突变。更具体地说，在下腔静脉中检测到刺突蛋白的突变，即 V341A（18.3%）、E654（44%）和 H655R（30.8%）。SARS-CoV-2 的变异性可导致病毒准种的不均匀分布，从而可能影响 COVID-19 的发病机制。
