ArticleCell research2021
A cohort autopsy study defines COVID-19 systemic pathogenesis.
Article in Cell research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 93 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
93 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 152 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of Acute Pulmonary Embolism at Autopsy in Patients With COVID-19.The American journal of cardiology · 2022Pooled it
- RAGE has potential pathogenetic and prognostic value in nonintubated hospitalized patients with COVID-19.JCI insight · 2022Trial
- The role of alveolar epithelial junctions in early lung injury and COVID-19-induced fibrosis.Histochemistry and cell biology · 2026Article
- A systematic scoping review and conceptual analysis of new-onset fibromyalgia manifestations after non-hospitalized COVID-19: empirics, definitions, methodologies, pathophysiology, mapping of literature, and knowledge gaps.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- Efficacy and safety of Toujie Quwen Granules in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2: A prospective cohort study of 156 cases.Chinese herbal medicines · 2026Article
- <p>Cigarette smoke combined withMolecular medicine reports · 2026Article
- Adipose Tissue in SARS-CoV-2 Viral Tropism, Viral Replication, and the Concept of a Viral Reservoir: An Update.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2026Review
- Long-term retinal dysfunction following COVID-19 infection: a one-year prospective observational study.BMC ophthalmology · 2026Observational
- Pathology and viral evolutionary dynamics in a hamster model of persistent SARS-CoV-2 infection.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Clinical characteristics of children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome infected with SARS-CoV-2: a single-center retrospective cohort study.BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
- A survey of SARS-CoV-2 tropism.Infectious diseases & immunity · 2025Review
- Article
- NARI-29: A Novel Epalrestat Derivative Attenuates Pulmonary Fibrosis by Modulating the TGF-β/Smad Signaling.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2025Article
- A pilot study on the effect of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein on IL-1β-mediated inflammation in peripheral blood immune cells from AIED patients.Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2025Article
- Effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on sperm telomere length.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2025Article
- Integrative single-cell and metagenomic analysis dissects SARS-CoV-2 shedding modes in human respiratory tract.Biosafety and health · 2025Article
- Clinical Characteristics During and After COVID-19 Infection Among Healthcare Workers During the First Wave of Omicron in Chongqing, China.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2025Article
- Perspective: host factors variants and the underlying causes of long COVID.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Path dependency and the rescuing of the biomedical research enterprise.Frontiers in medical technology · 2025Review
- Impact of Baseline SARS-CoV-2 Load in Plasma and Upper Airways on the Incidence of Acute Extrapulmonary Complications of COVID-19: A Multicentric, Prospective, Cohort Study.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2024Article
33 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
37 authors at 11 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Severe COVID-19 disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 is frequently accompanied by dysfunction of the lungs and extrapulmonary organs. However, the organotropism of SARS-CoV-2 and the port of virus entry for systemic dissemination remain largely unknown. We profiled 26 COVID-19 autopsy cases from four cohorts in Wuhan, China, and determined the systemic distribution of SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 was detected in the lungs and multiple extrapulmonary organs of critically ill COVID-19 patients up to 67 days after symptom onset. Based on organotropism and pathological features of the patients, COVID-19 was divided into viral intrapulmonary and systemic subtypes. In patients with systemic viral distribution, SARS-CoV-2 was detected in monocytes, macrophages, and vascular endothelia at blood-air barrier, blood-testis barrier, and filtration barrier. Critically ill patients with long disease duration showed decreased pulmonary cell proliferation, reduced viral RNA, and marked fibrosis in the lungs. Permanent SARS-CoV-2 presence and tissue injuries in the lungs and extrapulmonary organs suggest direct viral invasion as a mechanism of pathogenicity in critically ill patients. SARS-CoV-2 may hijack monocytes, macrophages, and vascular endothelia at physiological barriers as the ports of entry for systemic dissemination. Our study thus delineates systemic pathological features of SARS-CoV-2 infection, which sheds light on the development of novel COVID-19 treatment.
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