Haemorrhage of human foetal cortex associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection

Katherine Long; Marco Massimo; Carlotta Barelli; Catalina Moreno Rodriguez; Chiara Collesi; Rebecca K Holloway; Berta Crespo; Lorena Zentilin; Anna Williams; Veronique E. Miron; Mauro Giacca

doi:10.1093/brain/awac372

Haemorrhage of human foetal cortex associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection

Katherine Long^*, Marco Massimo, Carlotta Barelli, Catalina Moreno Rodriguez, Chiara Collesi, Rebecca K Holloway, Berta Crespo, Lorena Zentilin, Anna Williams, Veronique E. Miron, Mauro Giacca

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Maternal viral infection and immune response are known to increase the risk of altered development of the foetal brain. Given the ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), investigating the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on foetal brain health is of critical importance. Here, we report the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in first and second trimester foetal brain tissue in association with cortical haemorrhages. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was sparsely detected within progenitors and neurons of the cortex itself, but was abundant in the choroid plexus of haemorrhagic samples. SARS-CoV-2 was also sparsely detected in placenta, amnion and umbilical cord tissues. Cortical haemorrhages were linked to a reduction in blood vessel integrity and an increase in immune cell infiltration into the foetal brain. Our findings indicate that SARS-CoV-2 infection may affect the foetal brain during early gestation and highlight the need for further study of its impact on subsequent neurological development.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1175-1185
Number of pages	11
Journal	Brain
Volume	146
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awac372
Publication status	Published - 16 Jan 2023

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title = "Haemorrhage of human foetal cortex associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection",

abstract = "Maternal viral infection and immune response are known to increase the risk of altered development of the foetal brain. Given the ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), investigating the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on foetal brain health is of critical importance. Here, we report the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in first and second trimester foetal brain tissue in association with cortical haemorrhages. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was sparsely detected within progenitors and neurons of the cortex itself, but was abundant in the choroid plexus of haemorrhagic samples. SARS-CoV-2 was also sparsely detected in placenta, amnion and umbilical cord tissues. Cortical haemorrhages were linked to a reduction in blood vessel integrity and an increase in immune cell infiltration into the foetal brain. Our findings indicate that SARS-CoV-2 infection may affect the foetal brain during early gestation and highlight the need for further study of its impact on subsequent neurological development.",

author = "Katherine Long and Marco Massimo and Carlotta Barelli and {Moreno Rodriguez}, Catalina and Chiara Collesi and Holloway, {Rebecca K} and Berta Crespo and Lorena Zentilin and Anna Williams and Miron, {Veronique E.} and Mauro Giacca",

note = "Funding Information: We would like to thank Andrew Copp, Deborah Henderson, Steve Lisgo, Nita Solanky and their teams at the HDBR for their invaluable support; this work would not be possible without them. We also want to thank Grainne McAlonan and Mareike Albert for their expert advice. The authors would like to thank the following funding sources: the Medical Research Council MR/S025065/1 to KRL, MR/V031260/1 to VEM. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.",

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AU - Long, Katherine

AU - Massimo, Marco

AU - Barelli, Carlotta

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AU - Holloway, Rebecca K

AU - Crespo, Berta

AU - Zentilin, Lorena

AU - Williams, Anna

AU - Miron, Veronique E.

AU - Giacca, Mauro

N1 - Funding Information: We would like to thank Andrew Copp, Deborah Henderson, Steve Lisgo, Nita Solanky and their teams at the HDBR for their invaluable support; this work would not be possible without them. We also want to thank Grainne McAlonan and Mareike Albert for their expert advice. The authors would like to thank the following funding sources: the Medical Research Council MR/S025065/1 to KRL, MR/V031260/1 to VEM. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.

PY - 2023/1/16

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N2 - Maternal viral infection and immune response are known to increase the risk of altered development of the foetal brain. Given the ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), investigating the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on foetal brain health is of critical importance. Here, we report the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in first and second trimester foetal brain tissue in association with cortical haemorrhages. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was sparsely detected within progenitors and neurons of the cortex itself, but was abundant in the choroid plexus of haemorrhagic samples. SARS-CoV-2 was also sparsely detected in placenta, amnion and umbilical cord tissues. Cortical haemorrhages were linked to a reduction in blood vessel integrity and an increase in immune cell infiltration into the foetal brain. Our findings indicate that SARS-CoV-2 infection may affect the foetal brain during early gestation and highlight the need for further study of its impact on subsequent neurological development.

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Haemorrhage of human foetal cortex associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection

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