COVID-19 and the Vasculature: Current Aspects and Long-Term Consequences

Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology

Nadia Mercader¹  Yvonne Döring³  Melle Holwerda⁴  Robert Rieben⁴  Berenice Martínez-Salazar⁴  Indre Piragyte⁷  Chiara Stüdle⁸  Britta Engelhardt⁸ 

[1] Bern Center of Precision Medicine BCPM, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland;Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain;DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance, Munich, Germany;Department for BioMedical Research (DBMR), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland;Division of Angiology, Swiss Cardiovascular Center, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland;Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention (IPEK), Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany;Institute of Anatomy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland;Theodor Kocher Institute, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland;

关键词: SARS-CoV-2;    COVID-19;    long COVID-19 syndrome;    endothelium;    heart;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fcell.2022.824851

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first identified in December 2019 as a novel respiratory pathogen and is the causative agent of Corona Virus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Early on during this pandemic, it became apparent that SARS-CoV-2 was not only restricted to infecting the respiratory tract, but the virus was also found in other tissues, including the vasculature. Individuals with underlying pre-existing co-morbidities like diabetes and hypertension have been more prone to develop severe illness and fatal outcomes during COVID-19. In addition, critical clinical observations made in COVID-19 patients include hypercoagulation, cardiomyopathy, heart arrythmia, and endothelial dysfunction, which are indicative for an involvement of the vasculature in COVID-19 pathology. Hence, this review summarizes the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the vasculature and details how the virus promotes (chronic) vascular inflammation. We provide a general overview of SARS-CoV-2, its entry determinant Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme II (ACE2) and the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 in extrapulmonary tissue. Further, we describe the relation between COVID-19 and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and their impact on the heart and vasculature. Clinical findings on endothelial changes during COVID-19 are reviewed in detail and recent evidence from in vitro studies on the susceptibility of endothelial cells to SARS-CoV-2 infection is discussed. We conclude with current notions on the contribution of cardiovascular events to long term consequences of COVID-19, also known as “Long-COVID-syndrome”. Altogether, our review provides a detailed overview of the current perspectives of COVID-19 and its influence on the vasculature.

【 授权许可】

Unknown