Unraveling the brain's response to COVID-19: How SARS-CoV-2 afflicts dopaminergic neurons

Ilse Eidhof; Daniel Twohig; Anna Falk

doi:10.1016/j.stem.2024.01.002

Unraveling the brain's response to COVID-19: How SARS-CoV-2 afflicts dopaminergic neurons

Cell Stem Cell. 2024 Feb 1;31(2):152-154. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2024.01.002.

Authors

Ilse Eidhof¹, Daniel Twohig², Anna Falk³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, 171 11 Stockholm, Sweden.
² Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund Stem Cell Center Lund University, 221 84 Lund, Sweden.
³ Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund Stem Cell Center Lund University, 221 84 Lund, Sweden; Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 171 11 Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: anna.falk@med.lu.se.

PMID: 38306990
DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2024.01.002

Abstract

COVID-19 patients often display dysfunctions of the nervous system, indicating an effect of SARS-CoV-2 on neural cells. Yang et al. now show that human stem-cell-derived dopaminergic neurons are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, triggering inflammation and senescence. The study further identifies three FDA-approved drugs capable of reversing these cellular phenotypes.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Brain
COVID-19*
Dopaminergic Neurons
Humans
SARS-CoV-2