tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
PLoS One
. 2021 May 13;16(5):e0251682.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251682. eCollection 2021.
Severe acute respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2: Can it be detected in the retina?
Tarek Bayyoud[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Angelika Iftner[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Thomas Iftner[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Karl Ulrich Bartz-Schmidt[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Focke Ziemssen[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Hans B?sm?ller[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Falko Fend[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Jens Martin Rohrbach[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Marius Ueffing[SUP] 1 4 [/SUP], Michael Schindler[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Sebastian Thaler[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background/objectives: The systemic organ involvement of SARS-CoV-2 needs to be thoroughly investigated including the possibility of an ocular reservoir in humans. To examine retinal tissues and vitreous for histopathology and SARS-CoV-2 presence with regard to possible effects on the human retina and/ or vitreous. We performed histopathological analyses and quantitative (q)RT-PCR-testing for SARS-CoV-2 RNA on retinal tissues and vitreous of COVID-19 postmortem donors.
Subjects/methods: Included in this study were 10 eyes of 5 deceased COVID-19 patients. The diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed via pharyngeal swabs and broncho-alveolar fluids. The highest level of personal protective equipment (PPE) and measures was employed during fluid-tissue procurement and preparation. Histopathological examinations and qRT-PCR-testing were carried out for all retinal tissues and vitreous fluids.
Results: The histopathological examinations revealed no signs of morphologically identifiable retinal inflammation or vessel occlusions based on hematoxylin and eosin stains. By qRT-PCRs, we detected no significant level of viral RNA in human retina and vitreous.
Conclusions: In this study, no significant level of SARS-CoV-2-RNA was detected in the human retinal and vitreous fluid samples of deceased COVID-19 patients. Histopathological examinations confirmed no morphological sign of damage to retinal vasculature or tissues. Further studies are needed to confirm or refute the results.
. 2021 May 13;16(5):e0251682.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251682. eCollection 2021.
Severe acute respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2: Can it be detected in the retina?
Tarek Bayyoud[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Angelika Iftner[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Thomas Iftner[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Karl Ulrich Bartz-Schmidt[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Focke Ziemssen[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Hans B?sm?ller[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Falko Fend[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Jens Martin Rohrbach[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Marius Ueffing[SUP] 1 4 [/SUP], Michael Schindler[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Sebastian Thaler[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 33984050
- DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251682
Abstract
Background/objectives: The systemic organ involvement of SARS-CoV-2 needs to be thoroughly investigated including the possibility of an ocular reservoir in humans. To examine retinal tissues and vitreous for histopathology and SARS-CoV-2 presence with regard to possible effects on the human retina and/ or vitreous. We performed histopathological analyses and quantitative (q)RT-PCR-testing for SARS-CoV-2 RNA on retinal tissues and vitreous of COVID-19 postmortem donors.
Subjects/methods: Included in this study were 10 eyes of 5 deceased COVID-19 patients. The diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed via pharyngeal swabs and broncho-alveolar fluids. The highest level of personal protective equipment (PPE) and measures was employed during fluid-tissue procurement and preparation. Histopathological examinations and qRT-PCR-testing were carried out for all retinal tissues and vitreous fluids.
Results: The histopathological examinations revealed no signs of morphologically identifiable retinal inflammation or vessel occlusions based on hematoxylin and eosin stains. By qRT-PCRs, we detected no significant level of viral RNA in human retina and vitreous.
Conclusions: In this study, no significant level of SARS-CoV-2-RNA was detected in the human retinal and vitreous fluid samples of deceased COVID-19 patients. Histopathological examinations confirmed no morphological sign of damage to retinal vasculature or tissues. Further studies are needed to confirm or refute the results.