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The cornea of the human eye can resist infection with the new coronavirus, suggests a study by researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis. Louis, inform Xinhua.
Previous research on corneal tissue from humans and mice has shown that the Zika virus can be transmitted through tears. Scientists wanted to know if these tissues could be an entry point for SARS-CoV-2 as well.
To this end, they tested eye tissue exposure to various types of viruses and monitored closely to see if they could grow and multiply in the cornea.
They also identified several key substances in corneal tissues that can either stimulate or inhibit viral load growth.
One of the identified inhibitors is called interferon lambda, which effectively prevents the development of the Zika virus and herpes simplex virus within the corneal tissues. However, in the case of SARS-CoV-2, the concentrations of this substance had no effect on the replication capacity of the virus. The latter simply could not find a way to enter the body, regardless of whether interferon lambda was present or not.
This finding suggests that COVID-19 disease cannot be transmitted by corneal transplant or similar procedures performed in the eyeball.
“Our data suggests that the novel coronavirus does not appear to be able to penetrate the cornea,” said Rajendra S. Apte, a professor in the university’s department of ophthalmology and visual sciences.
However, due to unknown aspects related to the tear ducts and conjunctiva, it is too early to remove the importance of eye protection systems from discussion, the study authors said.
“It is important to respect what the virus can do and we must take appropriate precautions,” said study coordinator Jonathan J. Miner, assistant professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Molecular Microbiology, Pathology and Immunology. St. Louis.
“We may find that eye covering membranes are not necessarily created to protect against infection in the general community, but our studies are just beginning. We need more clinical studies to help us better understand all the avenues possible. transmission used by SARS-CoV-2, including the eye, “added the American professor.
The study was published in the journal Cell Reports. (Source Agerpres)
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