Human cardiosphere-derived stromal cells exposed to SARS-CoV-2 evolve into hyper-inflammatory/pro-fibrotic phenotype and produce infective viral particles depending on the levels of ACE2 receptor expression

Conclusions  Our findings indicate that cardiac stromal cells are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and produce variable viral yields depending on the extent of cellular ACE2 receptor expression. Interestingly, these cells also evolved towards hyper-inflammatory/pro-fibrotic phenotypes independently of ACE2 levels. Thus, SARS-CoV-2 infection of myocardial stromal cells could be involved in cardiac injury and explain the high number of complications observed in severe cases of COVID-19.
Source: Cardiovascular Research - Category: Cardiology Source Type: research