Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40614201›Full record

ArticleScience advances2025

SARS-CoV-2 induces Alzheimer's disease-related amyloid-β pathology in ex vivo human retinal explants and retinal organoids.

Sean J Miller, Rahul M Dhodapkar, Hande Eda Sutova, Yao Xue, Seunghoon Lee, Robert Logan, Chongzhao Ran, Sagar Bhatta, Ashley Gomm, In Gyoung Ju and 7 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Science advances, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Human brain matters: Navigating the neuropathology of COVID-19.Brain pathology (Zurich, Switzerland) · 2026
    Review
  2. SARS-CoV-2 seeds IAPP aggregation and β-cell failure.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Increased Amyloidogenic Neuronal Injury in HIV-1-infected APP-KI Alzheimer's disease mice.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. The amyloid-beta wave hypothesis of Alzheimer's disease.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025
    Article
  9. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Sean J MillerDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1432-9547
Rahul M DhodapkarDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2014-7515
Hande Eda SutovaDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
Yao XueDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
Seunghoon LeeDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.ORCID 0009-0003-4964-4245
Robert LoganDepartment of Biology and Biotechnology, School of Science and Technology, Endicott College, Beverly, MA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3368-239X
Chongzhao RanMartinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3892-4108
Sagar BhattaDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
Ashley GommGenetics and Aging Research Unit, McCance Center for Brain Health, Massachusetts General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4812-5959
In Gyoung JuDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9551-7528
Michael HeyangDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
Rayyan Y DarjiDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.ORCID 0009-0007-8904-9327
Marcello DiStasioDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6588-0713
Rudolph E TanziGenetics and Aging Research Unit, McCance Center for Brain Health, Massachusetts General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7032-1454
Can ZhangGenetics and Aging Research Unit, McCance Center for Brain Health, Massachusetts General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4340-5118
Z Jimmy ZhouDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
Brian P HaflerDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9263-3037

Funding

Yale Core Grant for Vision ResearchP30EY026878 · NEI · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI Z JIMMY ZHOU · 2016 to 2026
$7.1M
Functional Dissection of New Retinal CircuitsR01EY026065 · NEI · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI ZHOU, Z JIMMY · 2016 to 2022
$3.7M
Synaptic mechanisms and circuitry of retinal interneuronsR01EY034652 · NEI · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI Z JIMMY ZHOU · 2023 to 2026
$2.1M
Mechanisms of proinflammatory glial activation in retinal degenerationK08EY033013 · NEI · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI Marcello Michael DiStasio · 2024 to 2026
$842k
NEI NIH HHS K08 EY033013NEI NIH HHS P30 EY026878NEI NIH HHS R01 EY026065NEI NIH HHS R01 EY034652
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

While the etiology of Alzheimer's disease remains unknown, there is growing support for the amyloid-β antimicrobial hypothesis. Amyloid-β, the main component of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease, has been shown to be generated in the presence of microbes. Entrapment of microbes by aggregated amyloid-β may serve as an innate immune response to pathogenic infections. To understand the association of amyloid-β plaques and pathogenic infections in the central nervous system, we obtained viable short-interval postmortem human retinal tissue and generated human retinal organoids that contain electrophysiologically active neurons. Here, we demonstrate that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) induces amyloid-β extracellular protein aggregates in human retinal explants and retinal organoids. Last, pharmacological inhibition of neuropilin-1 resulted in reduced amyloid-β deposition in human retinal explants treated with SARS-CoV-2 Spike 1 protein. These results suggest that Spike 1 protein, during infection with SARS-CoV-2, can induce amyloid-β aggregation, which may be associated with the neurological symptoms experienced in COVID-19.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseAmyloid beta-PeptidesCOVID-19OrganoidsRetinaSARS-CoV-2HumansNeuropilin-1Plaque, AmyloidSpike Glycoprotein, CoronavirusAmyloid beta-PeptidesNeuropilin-1Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirusspike protein, SARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID40614201
PMCPMC12227045

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.