RESUMO
The COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world is due to the enormous capacity of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus to be transmitted between humans, causing a threat to global public health. It has been shown that the entry of this virus into cells is highly facilitated by the presence of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in the cell membrane. Currently, we have no precise knowledge of how this receptor expresses in the brain of human fetus and, as a consequence, we do not know how susceptible the neural cells in the developing brain are to being infected through the vertical transmission of this virus, from mother to fetus. In this work, we describe the expression of ACE2 in the human brain at 20 weeks of gestation. This stage corresponds to the period of neuronal generation, migration, and differentiation in the cerebral cortex. We describe the specific expression of ACE2 in neuronal precursors and migratory neuroblasts of the dentate gyrus in the hippocampus. This finding implies that SARS-CoV-2 infection during the fetal period may affect neuronal progenitor cells and alter the normal development of the brain region where memory engrams are generated. Thus, although vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection was reported in few cases, the massive infection rate of young people in terms of the new variants leads to the possibility of increasing the ratio of congenital infections and originating cognitive alterations, as well as neuronal circuit anomalies that may represent vulnerability to mental problems throughout life.
Assuntos
COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , Humanos , Adolescente , SARS-CoV-2/metabolismo , Enzima de Conversão de Angiotensina 2/genética , Enzima de Conversão de Angiotensina 2/metabolismo , Pandemias , Peptidil Dipeptidase A , Hipocampo/metabolismo , Giro Denteado/metabolismoRESUMO
The COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world due to the enormous transmission of the SARSCoV-2 among humans. COVID-19 represents a threat to global public health. The entry of this virus into cells is greatly facilitated by the presence of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in the cell membrane. Today we do not have a precise understanding of how this receptor expresses in the brain during human development and, as a consequence, we do not know whether neural cells in the developing brain are susceptible to infection. We review the knowledge about ACE2 expression in the developing human brain, with special attention to the fetal stage. This stage corresponds to the period of the cerebral cortex formation. Therefore, SARS-CoV-2 infection during the fetal period may alter the normal development of the cerebral cortex. Although few cases have been published demonstrating vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the large number of infected young people may represent a problem which requires health surveillance, due to the possibility of cognitive alterations and abnormalities in the development of cortical circuits that may represent a predisposition to mental problems later in life.
La pandemia COVID-19 se extendió por todo por a la enorme capacidad del coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 para transmitirse entre humanos. El COVID-19 es una amenaza para la salud pública mundial. La entrada de este virus en las células se ve muy facilitada por la presencia de la enzima convertidora de angiotensina 2 (ACE2) en la membrana celular. Hoy en día no tenemos un conocimiento preciso de cómo se expresa este receptor en el cerebro durante el desarrollo humano y, como consecuencia, no sabemos si las células neurales en desarrollo son susceptibles de ser infectadas a través de la transmisión de madre a feto. Revisamos en este artículo los conocimientos sobre la expresión de ACE2 en el cerebro humano en desarrollo, con especial atención a la etapa fetal. Esta etapa corresponde al periodo de formación de la corteza cerebral. La posibilidad de infección por SARS-CoV-2 durante el periodo fetal puede alterar el desarrollo normal de la corteza cerebral. Así pues, aunque se han publicado pocos casos demostrando la transmisión vertical de la infección por SARS-CoV-2, el gran número de jóvenes infectados puede representar un problema sanitario que necesite seguimiento, por la posibilidad de que se originen alteraciones cognitivas y anomalías en el desarrollo de los circuitos corticales, que pueden representar predisposición a padecer problemas mentales a lo largo de la vida.
Assuntos
COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , Humanos , Adolescente , Enzima de Conversão de Angiotensina 2/metabolismo , Peptidil Dipeptidase A , Pandemias , EncéfaloRESUMO
Resumen La pandemia COVID-19 se extendió por todo por a la enorme capacidad del coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 para transmitirse entre humanos. El COVID-19 es una amenaza para la salud pública mundial. La entrada de este virus en las células se ve muy facilitada por la presencia de la enzima convertidora de angiotensina 2 (ACE2) en la membrana celular. Hoy en día no tenemos un conocimiento preciso de cómo se expresa este receptor en el cerebro durante el desarrollo humano y, como consecuencia, no sabemos si las células neurales en desarrollo son susceptibles de ser infectadas a través de la transmisión de madre a feto. Revisamos en este artículo los conocimientos sobre la expresión de ACE2 en el cerebro humano en desarrollo, con especial atención a la etapa fetal. Esta etapa corresponde al periodo de formación de la corteza cerebral. La posibilidad de infección por SARS-CoV-2 durante el periodo fetal puede alterar el desarrollo normal de la corteza cerebral. Así pues, aunque se han publicado pocos casos demostrando la transmisión vertical de la infección por SARS-CoV-2, el gran número de jóvenes infectados puede representar un problema sanitario que necesite seguimiento, por la posibilidad de que se originen alteraciones cognitivas y anomalías en el desarrollo de los circuitos corticales, que pueden representar predisposición a padecer problemas mentales a lo largo de la vida.
Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world due to the enormous transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 among humans. COVID-19 represents a threat to global public health. The entry of this virus into cells is greatly facilitated by the presence of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in the cell membrane. Today we do not have a precise understanding of how this receptor expresses in the brain during human development and, as a consequence, we do not know whether neural cells in the developing brain are susceptible to infection. We review the knowledge about ACE2 expression in the developing human brain, with special attention to the fetal stage. This stage corresponds to the period of the cerebral cortex formation. Therefore, SARS-CoV-2 infection during the fetal period may alter the normal development of the cerebral cortex. Although few cases have been published demonstrating vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the large number of infected young people may represent a problem which requires health surveillance, due to the possibility of cognitive alterations and abnormalities in the development of cortical circuits that may represent a predisposition to mental problems later in life.