SARS-CoV-2 infection of circulating immune cells is not responsible for virus dissemination in severe COVID-19 patients

Rosin, N. L.; Jaffer, A.; Sinha, S.; Mulloy, R. P.; Robinson, C.; Labit, E.; Almeida, L. G.; Dufour, A.; Corcoran, J. A.; Yipp, B.; Biernaskie, J.

doi:10.1101/2021.01.19.427282

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.01.19.427282

SARS-CoV-2 infection of circulating immune cells is not responsible for virus dissemination in severe COVID-19 patients

Rosin, N. L.·Jaffer, A.·Sinha, S.·Mulloy, R. P.·Robinson, C.·Labit, E.·Almeida, L. G.·Dufour, A.·Corcoran, J. A.·Yipp, B.·Biernaskie, J.

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Abstract

In late 2019 a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) emerged, and has since caused a global pandemic. Understanding the pathogenesis of COVID-19 disease is necessary to inform development of therapeutics, and management of infected patients. Using scRNAseq of blood drawn from SARS-CoV-2 patients, we asked whether SARS-CoV-2 may exploit immune cells as a Trojan Horse to disseminate and access multiple organ systems. Our data suggests that circulating cells are not actively infected with SARS-CoV-2, and do not appear to be a source of viral dissemination.

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Rosin, N. L., Jaffer, A., Sinha, S., Mulloy, R. P., Robinson, C., Labit, E., Almeida, L. G., Dufour, A., Corcoran, J. A., Yipp, B., Biernaskie, J.. 2021-01-19. SARS-CoV-2 infection of circulating immune cells is not responsible for virus dissemination in severe COVID-19 patients. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.19.427282

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