Evidence of the COVID-19 virus targeting the CNS: tissue distribution, host-virus interaction, and proposed neurotropic mechanisms
Open accessAbstract
The recent outbreak of coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) has gripped the world with apprehension and has evoked a scare of epic proportion regarding its potential to spread and infect humans worldwide. As we are in the midst of an ongoing pandemic of COVID-19, scientists are struggling to understand how it resembles and differs from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) at the genomic and transcriptomic level. In a short time following the outbreak, it has been shown that, similar to SARS-CoV, COVID-19 virus exploits the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor to gain entry inside the cells. This finding raises the curiosity of investigating the expression of ACE2 in neurological tissue and determining the possible contribution of neurological tissue damage to the morbidity and mortality caused by COIVD-19. Here, we investigate the density of the expression levels of ACE2 in the CNS, the host-virus interaction and relate it to the pathogenesis and complications seen in the recent cases resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak. Also, we debate the need for a model for staging COVID-19 based on neurological tissue involvement.
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SARS-CoV-2 spike protein could interact with ACE2 expressed in the capillary endothelium, and the virus may damage the blood-brain barrier and enter the CNS by attacking the vascular system.
“In addition, given that SARS-CoV-2 spike protein could interact with ACE2 expressed in the capillary endothelium, the virus may also damage the blood–brain barrier and enter the CNS by attacking the vascular system (Baig et al., 2020).”
From Nervous system involvement after infection with COVID-19 and other coronaviruses (2020) · cites this paper as Baig et al., 2020
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- Authors
- Baig, A. M., Khaleeq, A., Ali, U., & Syeda, H.
- Affiliations
- Aga Khan University (PK)
- Mohammad Ali Jinnah University (PK)
- Corresponding author
- Baig, Abdul Mannan
- Venue
- ACS Chemical Neuroscience
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2020-03-13
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 995-998
- ISSN
- 1948-7193 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3011147220
- Cited by
- 2,207
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 31 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 134 · 2023: 205 · 2022: 381 · 2021: 600 · 2020: 804 · 2018: 1
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- ACS Chemical Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- eCommons - AKU (Aga Khan University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Long-Term Effects of COVID-19
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies
- Keywords
- COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2, central nervous system, ACE2 receptor, host-virus interaction, neurotropism, neurological complications, tissue distribution, disease staging, pathogenesis
- MeSH terms
- Betacoronavirus, Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Central Nervous System, Humans, Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A, Pneumonia, Viral, Receptors, Virus, Tissue Distribution, Coronavirus Infections, Host-Pathogen Interactions, Pandemics
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