SARS-CoV-2 infection triggers pro-atherogenic inflammatory responses in human coronary vessels

Abstract:

Patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) present increased risk for ischemic cardiovascular complications up to 1 year after infection. Although the systemic inflammatory response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection likely contributes to this increased cardiovascular risk, whether SARS-CoV-2 directly infects the coronary vasculature and attendant atherosclerotic plaques remains unknown.

Publication in Nature Cardiovascular Research from Dr Natalia Eberhardt, PhD and colleagues details the mechanism of coronary inflammation in people with COVID-19. This study revealed that SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) directly infects coronary vessels, inducing plaque inflammation that can increase the long-term cardiovascular risk. Read publication here

Eberhardt, N., Noval, M.G., Kaur, R. et al. SARS-CoV-2 infection triggers pro-atherogenic inflammatory responses in human coronary vessels. Nat Cardiovasc Res (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44161-023-00336-5