Here, we show that SARS-CoV-2 invades the brains of five patients with COVID-19 and Alzheimers, autism, frontotemporal dementia or no underlying condition by infecting neurons and other cells in the cortex.
SARS-CoV-2 induces or enhances Alzheimers-like neuropathology with manifestations of beta-amyloid aggregation and plaque formation, tauopathy, neuroinflammation and cell death.
A gene signature defined as an Alzheimers infectious etiology is identified through SARS-CoV-2 infection, and silencing the top three downregulated genes in human primary neurons recapitulates the neurodegenerative phenotypes of SARS-CoV-2. Thus, SARS-CoV-2 invades the brain and activates an Alzheimers-like program.
