Patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 have shown symptoms in the lungs and gut (gastrointestinal tract). However, little is known how the virus can infect the gut. A team of experts from HKUMed studied the use of bat intestinal cells in the laboratory to investigate SARS-CoV-2 infection, which could potentially uncover the origin of the virus. The team also explored how SARS-CoV-2 can multiply in human intestinal cells and spread via the gut. The results were published in Nature Medicine, a leading journal in science and medicine.
Key takeaways from the study:
- Intestinal cells from horseshoe bats and humans were easily infected by SARS-CoV-2.
- The infected intestinal cells developed cytopathic effect (CPE) – changes to the structure of a cell caused by viral infection; over time, the intestinal cells broke, releasing large quantities of virus into the culture media.
- CPE developed sooner after infection in humans than in bats.
- The enterocytes – cells in the intestines involved in digestion – were the main target of SARS-CoV-2.
- SARS-CoV-2 obtained from stool samples of a patient suggested that the gut might be a route of virus transmission.
Horseshoe bats are known natural carriers of SARS-related coronavirus (SARSr-CoV), hence, SARS-CoV-2 is suspected to come from bats since its genetic material is highly similar to SARSr-CoV. This study showed that SARS-CoV-2 can multiply rapidly in the intestinal cells of horseshoe bat in the laboratory, suggesting that these cells could be used to study SARS-CoV-2 infection and other bat viruses. This study also adds to the growing body of evidence that the virus can infect and spread via the gut. More studies are needed to understand if the infection in the gut is caused by the ‘fecal-oral route’ or a secondary infection from the lungs.
To read the original article published in Nature Medicine, click here.
