What happens in the lungs during SARS-CoV-2 infection

BIH press release on a recent paper co-authored by CUBI member Benedikt Obermeyer.

“A Berlin-based research group led by Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin has succeeded in simulating SARS-CoV-2 infection in human lungs and has gained important insights into the mechanism of infection. Using living lung samples, they were able to show that the virus is capable of directly infecting the cells of the human alveoli to only a very limited extent. In contrast, most viruses in the lungs are taken up directly by macrophages - cells of the innate immune defense system - and trigger a specific immune activation in them. The results have now been published in the journal European Respiratory Journal*.”

Last modified: Jul 5, 2022