1/20/2024 0 Comments Inner ear itch covidThese proteins include the ACE2 receptor, which is found on cell surfaces, and two enzymes called furin and transmembrane protease serine 2, which help the virus to fuse with the host cell. In both the human inner ear samples and the stem-cell-derived cellular models, the researchers found that certain types of cells - hair cells and Schwann cells - express the proteins that are needed for the SARS-CoV-2 virus to enter the cells. In addition, the researchers were able to obtain samples of hard-to-obtain inner ear tissue from patients who were undergoing surgery for a disorder that causes severe attacks of vertigo or for a tumor that causes hearing loss and dizziness. These cells could be grown in a flat, two-dimensional layer or organized into three-dimensional organoids. Then, they were able to stimulate those cells to differentiate into several types of cells found in the inner ear: hair cells, supporting cells, nerve fibers, and Schwann cells, which insulate neurons. They created their cellular models by taking human skin cells and transforming them into induced pluripotent stem cells. She and Gehrke decided to use the model system they were working on to study infection of SARS-CoV-2. “It was very unclear at the time whether this was causally related or coincidental, because hearing loss and tinnitus are so common,” she recalls. At Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Stankovic started to see patients who were experiencing hearing loss, tinnitus, and dizziness, who had tested positive for Covid-19. In early 2020, after the SARS-CoV-2 virus emerged, the researchers altered their plans. Viruses such as cytomegalovirus, mumps virus, and hepatitis viruses can all cause deafness, but exactly how they do so is not well-understood. Minjin Jeong, a former postdoc in Stankovic’s laboratory at Harvard Medical School, who is now at Stanford Medical School, is the lead author of the paper, which appears today in Communications Medicine.īefore the Covid-19 pandemic began, Gehrke and Stankovic began working together on a project to develop cellular models to study infections of the human inner ear. Konstantina Stankovic, a former associate professor at Harvard Medical School and former chief of otology and neurotology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, who is now the Bertarelli Foundation Professor and chair of the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine, co-led the study. von Helmholtz Professor in MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, who co-led the study. “Having the models is the first step, and this work opens a path now for working with not only SARS-CoV-2 but also other viruses that affect hearing,” says Lee Gehrke, the Hermann L.F. The limited availability of such tissue has hindered previous studies of Covid-19 and other viruses that can cause hearing loss. The researchers used novel cellular models of the human inner ear that they developed, as well as hard-to-obtain adult human inner ear tissue, for their studies. The researchers also found that the pattern of infection seen in human inner ear tissue is consistent with the symptoms seen in a study of 10 Covid-19 patients who reported a variety of ear-related symptoms. Dizziness and balance problems can also occur, suggesting that the SARS-CoV-2 virus may be able to infect the inner ear.Ī new study from MIT and Massachusetts Eye and Ear provides evidence that the virus can indeed infect cells of the inner ear, including hair cells, which are critical for both hearing and balance. Many Covid-19 patients have reported symptoms affecting the ears, including hearing loss and tinnitus. The prevalence of auditory symptoms in Covid-19 patients is unknown, but infection of the inner ears may be responsible for hearing and balance problems.
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