Nat Commun: Animal studies have revealed that the coronavirus can infect the eyes

The scientists studied whether SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, can affect the visual and depth perception
of infected people.
In a new study, researchers from research institutions such as Griffith University in Australia and the Korea Institute of Chemical Technology wanted to understand how SARS-CoV-2 affects the eye and whether it can act as a viral infection pathway
.
They found that the eye and trigeminal nerve are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, and in animal models, the virus can infect the eye through the respiratory tract and through the
brain 。 The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Communications on December 12, 2022, under the title "Ocular tropism of SARS-CoV-2 in animal models with retinal inflammation via neuronal invasion following intranasal inoculation
。

Professor Suresh Mahalingam of Griffith University, co-author of the paper, said SARS-CoV-2 began to affect vision
when the retina was thickened due to optic nerve inflammation, abnormal fluid buildup and immune cell infiltration.
"The virus can infect the eye through the nerve tissue behind the eye, which plays a role in the visual aspect of the eye and sends signals
for visual purposes.
The result of this retinal inflammation is a decrease
in depth perception due to blurred vision.
"This blurred vision seems to be symptomatic rather than permanent degeneration of eye tissue
.
It is also likely to affect only very few people
.

Co-author Mr Wern Hann Ng, a PhD student at Griffith University, said that while much research on COVID-19 has focused on respiratory infections, particularly in the lungs and nasal areas, little attention has been paid to the eyes
.

Clinical features and viral titers
in the eyes of SARS-CoV-2-infected mice.
Image from Nature Communications, 2022, doi:10.
1038/s41467-022-35225-1
.

"We found that this virus can indeed infect the eye through the normal intranasal route, but it can also infect the eye if droplets of this virus come into direct contact with the eye
," he said.
In order to infect specific cells in tissues or organs, this virus attaches to ACE2 receptors, which are abundant in the lungs, tonsils, nasal passages, kidneys and heart, which is why many reports have been published against these organs, but we found that ACE2 receptors are also present in the eye and therefore favor infection
.
”

These findings shed new light on COVID-19 disease and may lead to the development of treatment strategies
for COVID-19 patients.
(Biovalley Bioon.
com)

Resources:

Gi Uk Jeong et al.
 Ocular tropism of SARS-CoV-2 in animal models with retinal inflammation via neuronal invasion following intranasal inoculation.
Nature Communications, 2022, doi:10.
1038/s41467-022-35225-1.