ABOVE: A brain organoid cultured from human stem cells in which some cells are infected with SARS-CoV-2. Viral protein is stained red, and neuron nuclei labeled in blue.
SONG ET AL.,YALE UNIVERSITY
With no ideal animal model that mimics how SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to COVID-19 in people, several research groups are turning to mini-organs grown from human stem cells to better understand whether and how different organs could become potential targets of infection.
In a preliminary, not-yet-peer-reviewed study posted June 26 to bioRxiv, a team of Yale University researchers report that SARS-CoV-2 is capable of infecting and replicating in neurons in human brain organoid models. While the finding is consistent with two other, smaller studies, there’s no clear evidence so far that the virus can infect brains.
“I think these [organoid] papers are interesting, but it’s too early to know how to put [them] in context of the rest of the ...
