ArticlePLoS biology2022
SARS-CoV-2 infects human brain organoids causing cell death and loss of synapses that can be rescued by treatment with Sofosbuvir.
Article in PLoS biology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 58 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mapping the Cerebral Organoid Landscape: A Systematic Review of Preclinical 3D Models in Neuroscience.Advanced healthcare materials · 2026Pooled it
- Mucosal immune response in biology, disease prevention and treatment.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2025Pooled it
- Beyond the neuron: the role of glial cells in viral neuropathogenesis.Journal of virology · 2026Review
- Advances and applications of brain organoids in central nervous system disorders: Bridging the gap from laboratory to clinic.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- A gene therapy strategy for Deoxyhypusine Synthase (DHPS) syndrome.Research square · 2026Article
- Identifying GFAP-expressing cell susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection using human iPSC-derived neural cells.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Viral modulation of synaptic pruning: implications for neuropathology and brain function.Journal of virology · 2026Review
- Modest Neurodevelopment Impacts of <italic>APOE4</italic> in a Human Brain Organoid Model of Low-Grade SARS-CoV-2 Infection.Developmental neuroscience · 2026Article
- Organoids Gone Viral: A Comprehensive Review on Human Organoid Models to Study Viral Pathogenesis.Viruses · 2026Review
- Human organoids and organ-on-chip systems for AI-guided therapeutic discovery against emerging and re-emerging infections.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- SARS-CoV-2-induced damage to rat cortical neuronal networks ex vivo is mediated by the pro-inflammatory activation of the cGAS-STING pathway.Journal of neurovirology · 2025Article
- Neurodevelopmental risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection in utero.Pediatric research · 2025Article
- Impact of intermittent lead exposure on hominid brain evolution.Science advances · 2025Article
- A survey of SARS-CoV-2 tropism.Infectious diseases & immunity · 2025Review
- Role of NRP1/HDAC4/CREB/RIPK1 Axis in SARS-CoV2 S1 Spike Subunit-Induced Neuronal Toxicity.FASEB bioAdvances · 2025Article
- Expression of SARS-CoV-2 entry receptor ACE2 in human brain and its association with Alzheimer's disease and COVID-19.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Review
- SARS-CoV-2 and neurotropism: evidence, gaps and reflections.Journal of medical microbiology · 2025Article
- SARS-CoV2 infection triggers inflammatory conditions and astrogliosis-related gene expression in long-term human cortical organoids.Stem cells (Dayton, Ohio) · 2025Article
- Investigating the impact of severe maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection on infant DNA methylation and neurodevelopment.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Article
- iPSC-derived human cortical organoids display profound alterations of cellular homeostasis following SARS-CoV-2 infection and Spike protein exposure.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
18 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was rapidly declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Early clinical symptomatology focused mainly on respiratory illnesses. However, a variety of neurological manifestations in both adults and newborns are now well-documented. To experimentally determine whether SARS-CoV-2 could replicate in and affect human brain cells, we infected iPSC-derived human brain organoids. Here, we show that SARS-CoV-2 can productively replicate and promote death of neural cells, including cortical neurons. This phenotype was accompanied by loss of excitatory synapses in neurons. Notably, we found that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved antiviral Sofosbuvir was able to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication and rescued these neuronal alterations in infected brain organoids. Given the urgent need for readily available antivirals, these results provide a cellular basis supporting repurposed antivirals as a strategic treatment to alleviate neurocytological defects that may underlie COVID-19- related neurological symptoms.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.