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SARS-CoV-2 Infects Neurons and Induces Neuroinflammation in a Non-Human Primate Model of COVID-19

Beckman et al., Cell Reports. 2022.

https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111573

SARS-CoV-2 causes brain fog and other neurological complications in some patients. It has been unclear whether SARS-CoV-2 infects the brain directly or whether central nervous system sequelae result from systemic inflammatory responses triggered in the periphery. Using a rhesus macaque model, researchers detected SARS-CoV-2 in the olfactory cortex and interconnected regions 7 days after infection, demonstrating that the virus enters the brain through the olfactory nerve. Neuroinflammation and neuronal damage were more severe in elderly monkeys with type 2 diabetes. The researchers found that in aged monkeys, SARS-CoV-2 traveled farther along nerve pathways to regions associated with Alzheimer's disease. Supported by ORIP (P51OD011107) and NIA.

Molecular Insights Into Antibody-Mediated Protection Against the Prototypic Simian Immunodeficiency Virus

Zhao et al., Nature Communications. 2022.

https://www.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32783-2

Most simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) vaccines have focused on inducing T cell responses alone or in combination with non-neutralizing antibody responses. To date, studies investigating neutralizing antibody (nAb) responses to protect against SIV have been limited. In this study, researchers isolated 12 potent monoclonal nAbs from chronically infected rhesus macaques of both sexes and mapped their binding specificities on the envelope trimer structure. They further characterized the structures using cryogenic electron microscopy, mass spectrometry, and computational modeling. Their findings indicate that, in the case of humoral immunity, nAb activity is necessary and sufficient for protection against SIV challenge. This work provides structural insights for future vaccine design. Supported by ORIP (P51OD011106), NIAID, and NCI.

Using the Autofluorescence Finder on the Sony ID7000TM Spectral Cell Analyzer to Identify and Unmix Multiple Highly Autofluorescent Murine Lung Populations

Wanner et al., Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. 2022.

https://www.doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2022.827987

The investigators explored a new imaging approach to detect faint fluorescent signals that are masked in the background of cell types that emit high‑intensity autofluorescence (AF) signals in a flow cytometry panel. Using a novel AF finder tool on the Sony ID7000™ spectral cell analyzer, the investigators studied multiple AF subsets in complex and heterogeneous murine lung single-cell suspensions. Major immune and lung tissue resident cells in a murine model of asthma were easily identified in a multicolor panel using AF subtraction. The findings demonstrate the practicality of the AF finder tool, particularly when analyzing samples with multiple AF populations of varying intensities, to reduce fluorescence background and increase signal resolution in spectral flow cytometry. Supported by ORIP (S10OD025207) and NHLBI.