References: Direct SARS-CoV-2 infection of the human inner ear may underlie COVID-19-associated audiovestibular dysfunction. Jeong, M., Ocwieja, K.E., Han, D. Ringing in Your Ears? Get the Buzz on Tinnitus.Dealing With Dizziness: Getting Help for a Balance Disorder.Technique Forms Working Inner Ear Cells.A Blueprint of Cell Development in the Inner Ear.In addition, Gehrke says, “this work opens a path now for working with not only SARS-CoV-2 but also other viruses that affect hearing.” Together, these results point to SARS-CoV-2 infection of the inner ear as a cause of COVID-19-associated hearing and balance issues. The virus was able to infect the hair cell-like cells in the organoids. Hair cell- and Schwann cell-like cells in these organoids had the proteins needed for SARS-CoV-2 infection. They mimic not only the types of cells in the inner ear, but also their spatial organization and function. These are 3D tissues generated from stem cells. The team obtained similar results from experiments in inner ear organoids. SARS-CoV-2 infected the hair cell precursors and, to a lesser extent, the Schwann cell ones. Like the human inner ear samples, these cells had the proteins needed for SARS-CoV-2 infection. They then directed the stem cells to develop into precursors of either hair cells or Schwann cells. They took cells from human skin that were reprogrammed to become stem cells. So, the team developed models of inner ear tissue that they could use for further investigation. Human inner ear tissue is difficult for researchers to get. SARS-CoV-2 could infect both of these cell types in the lab. The latter provide electrical insulation for nerve cells. The former sense sound waves for hearing and motion for maintaining balance. The researchers found these proteins on two types of inner ear cells-hair cells and Schwann cells. Infection by SARS-CoV-2 requires certain proteins on the host cell surface. To find out how COVID-19 might cause these symptoms, the team collected inner ear tissue from patients who’d had surgery to treat severe vertigo. The timing of symptom onset suggested a correlation between COVID-19 infection and hearing loss. Six patients experienced vertigo, a sudden spinning sensation. Nine of the patients also experienced tinnitus, a ringing or buzzing noise in one or both ears. The hearing loss ranged from mild to profound. The researchers identified ten patients with COVID-19 who developed hearing loss after infection. Results appeared in Communications Medicine on October 29, 2021. NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) supported the research. ![]() ![]() They also studied inner ear tissue and cells to determine the virus’s effects. Lee Gehrke at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Konstantina Stankovic, now at Stanford University School of Medicine, examined hearing and balance symptoms in patients with COVID-19. But the effects of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, on the ear remain poorly understood.Ī team of researchers led by Drs. Hearing loss and balance disorders often result from viral infections in the inner ear. Hearing and balance symptoms associated with COVID-19 have also been reported, but these have not been thoroughly studied. ![]() Sensory symptoms, including loss of taste and smell, sometimes come with COVID-19. ![]() ACE2, a protein needed for SARS-CoV-2 infection, appears in pink. An inner ear organoid with hair cells highlighted with a yellow box.
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