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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2023.01.10.523422

Human iPS cell-derived sensory neurons can be infected by SARS-CoV-2 strain WA1/2020 as well as variants delta and omicron.

Flamier, A.·Bisht, P.·Richards, A.·Tomasello, D. L.·Jaenisch, R.
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Abstract

COVID-19 has impacted billions of people in the world since 2019 and unfolded a major healthcare crisis. With an increasing number of deaths and the emergence of more transmissible variants, it is crucial to better understand the biology of the disease-causing virus, the SARS-CoV-2. Peripheral neuropathies appeared as a specific COVID-19 symptom occurring at later stages of the disease. In order to understand the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the peripheral nervous system, we generated human sensory neurons from induced pluripotent stem cells that we infected with the SARS-CoV-2 strain WA1/2020 and the variants delta and omicron. Using single cell RNA sequencing, we found that human sensory neurons can be infected by SARS-CoV-2 but are unable to produce new viruses. Our data suggests that sensory neurons can be infected by the original WA1/2020 strain of SARS-CoV-2 as well as the delta and omicron variants.

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Flamier, A., Bisht, P., Richards, A., Tomasello, D. L., Jaenisch, R.. 2023-01-10. Human iPS cell-derived sensory neurons can be infected by SARS-CoV-2 strain WA1/2020 as well as variants delta and omicron.. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.01.10.523422

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