Morphologic Findings in the Cerebral Cortex in COVID-19: Association of Microglial Changes with Clinical and Demographic Variables
Despite the enormous interest in COVID-19, there is no clear understanding of the mechanisms underlying the neurological symptoms in COVID-19. Microglia have been hypothesized to be a potential mediator of the neurological manifestations associated with COVID-19. In most existing studies to date, mo...
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MDPI AG
2023-05-01
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| author | Anastasiya S. Babkina Mikhail Ya. Yadgarov Maxim A. Lyubomudrov Irina V. Ostrova Alexey V. Volkov Artem N. Kuzovlev Andrey V. Grechko Arkady M. Golubev |
| author_facet | Anastasiya S. Babkina Mikhail Ya. Yadgarov Maxim A. Lyubomudrov Irina V. Ostrova Alexey V. Volkov Artem N. Kuzovlev Andrey V. Grechko Arkady M. Golubev |
| author_sort | Anastasiya S. Babkina |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite the enormous interest in COVID-19, there is no clear understanding of the mechanisms underlying the neurological symptoms in COVID-19. Microglia have been hypothesized to be a potential mediator of the neurological manifestations associated with COVID-19. In most existing studies to date, morphological changes in internal organs, including the brain, are considered in isolation from clinical data and defined as a consequence of COVID-19. We performed histological immunohistochemical (IHC) studies of brain autopsy materials of 18 patients who had died from COVID-19. We evaluated the relationship of microglial changes with the clinical and demographic characteristics of the patients. The results revealed neuronal alterations and circulatory disturbances. We found an inverse correlation between the integral density Iba-1 (microglia/macrophage-specific marker) IHC staining and the duration of the disease (R = −0.81, <i>p</i> = 0.001), which may indicate a reduced activity of microglia and do not exclude their damage in the long-term course of COVID-19. The integral density of Iba-1 IHC staining was not associated with other clinical and demographic factors. We observed a significantly higher number of microglial cells in close contact with neurons in female patients, which confirms gender differences in the course of the disease, indicating the need to study the disease from the standpoint of personalized medicine. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:54:43Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:54:43Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biomedicines |
| spelling | doaj.art-634c112d79464bf0a05227a22876faab2023-11-18T00:36:39ZengMDPI AGBiomedicines2227-90592023-05-01115140710.3390/biomedicines11051407Morphologic Findings in the Cerebral Cortex in COVID-19: Association of Microglial Changes with Clinical and Demographic VariablesAnastasiya S. Babkina0Mikhail Ya. Yadgarov1Maxim A. Lyubomudrov2Irina V. Ostrova3Alexey V. Volkov4Artem N. Kuzovlev5Andrey V. Grechko6Arkady M. Golubev7Federal Research and Clinical Center of Intensive Care Medicine and Rehabilitology, Moscow 107031, RussiaFederal Research and Clinical Center of Intensive Care Medicine and Rehabilitology, Moscow 107031, RussiaFederal Research and Clinical Center of Intensive Care Medicine and Rehabilitology, Moscow 107031, RussiaFederal Research and Clinical Center of Intensive Care Medicine and Rehabilitology, Moscow 107031, RussiaDepartment of Pathological Anatomy, Institute of Medicine, Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, Moscow 117198, RussiaFederal Research and Clinical Center of Intensive Care Medicine and Rehabilitology, Moscow 107031, RussiaFederal Research and Clinical Center of Intensive Care Medicine and Rehabilitology, Moscow 107031, RussiaFederal Research and Clinical Center of Intensive Care Medicine and Rehabilitology, Moscow 107031, RussiaDespite the enormous interest in COVID-19, there is no clear understanding of the mechanisms underlying the neurological symptoms in COVID-19. Microglia have been hypothesized to be a potential mediator of the neurological manifestations associated with COVID-19. In most existing studies to date, morphological changes in internal organs, including the brain, are considered in isolation from clinical data and defined as a consequence of COVID-19. We performed histological immunohistochemical (IHC) studies of brain autopsy materials of 18 patients who had died from COVID-19. We evaluated the relationship of microglial changes with the clinical and demographic characteristics of the patients. The results revealed neuronal alterations and circulatory disturbances. We found an inverse correlation between the integral density Iba-1 (microglia/macrophage-specific marker) IHC staining and the duration of the disease (R = −0.81, <i>p</i> = 0.001), which may indicate a reduced activity of microglia and do not exclude their damage in the long-term course of COVID-19. The integral density of Iba-1 IHC staining was not associated with other clinical and demographic factors. We observed a significantly higher number of microglial cells in close contact with neurons in female patients, which confirms gender differences in the course of the disease, indicating the need to study the disease from the standpoint of personalized medicine.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/11/5/1407SARS-CoV-2pathologyautopsyCOVID-19brainmorphological changes |
| spellingShingle | Anastasiya S. Babkina Mikhail Ya. Yadgarov Maxim A. Lyubomudrov Irina V. Ostrova Alexey V. Volkov Artem N. Kuzovlev Andrey V. Grechko Arkady M. Golubev Morphologic Findings in the Cerebral Cortex in COVID-19: Association of Microglial Changes with Clinical and Demographic Variables Biomedicines SARS-CoV-2 pathology autopsy COVID-19 brain morphological changes |
| title | Morphologic Findings in the Cerebral Cortex in COVID-19: Association of Microglial Changes with Clinical and Demographic Variables |
| title_full | Morphologic Findings in the Cerebral Cortex in COVID-19: Association of Microglial Changes with Clinical and Demographic Variables |
| title_fullStr | Morphologic Findings in the Cerebral Cortex in COVID-19: Association of Microglial Changes with Clinical and Demographic Variables |
| title_full_unstemmed | Morphologic Findings in the Cerebral Cortex in COVID-19: Association of Microglial Changes with Clinical and Demographic Variables |
| title_short | Morphologic Findings in the Cerebral Cortex in COVID-19: Association of Microglial Changes with Clinical and Demographic Variables |
| title_sort | morphologic findings in the cerebral cortex in covid 19 association of microglial changes with clinical and demographic variables |
| topic | SARS-CoV-2 pathology autopsy COVID-19 brain morphological changes |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/11/5/1407 |
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