A study made by him Institute of Neuroscienceswhich is a joint center of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) and of the Miguel Hernandez Universityreveals that the protein that covid infection leaves in the body, ACE2, could affect the fetusspecifically to the development of the part of the brain that allows to generate memories and forms of learning.
Therefore, the researchers claim that postnatal follow-up at pregnant contracting the coronavirus during the first weeks of pregnancy, because it is a risk factor.
The discovery is derived from the end-of-degree project of a Biotechnology student at the University of Murcia and has been published in the journal ‘Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences‘, as reported by the CSIC this Thursday.
To carry out the analyses, the scientists have used three brains of fetuses 20 weeks gestation, donated anonymously after a spontaneous abortion. The research team has studied the presence of the ACE2 enzyme, which is located on the outside of the cells and is a kind of ‘entrance door’ to the virus, at week 20 of gestation, which is a crucial period in which the cerebral cortex forms.
The protection of adults
A previous scientific study had shown the existence of ACE2 in brain cells of a human fetus, but only in the walls of the ventricles. However, according to researchers at the Institute of Neurosciences, the virus could spread to other parts of the world. nervous system and affect the mechanisms that act during its embryonic development.
“In the case of the mature brain, we have a blood-brain barrier,” explains Professor Salvador Martinezstudy leader, “But this barrier is immature in the fetus and it doesn’t finish forming until later”, he adds.
The study concludes that when neurons are generated and migrate to their correct position during brain development, they use the ACE2 gene to improve oxygen flow during their migration. “This function, let open the door to infection of the coronavirus at a critical moment”, warns the professor.
The other infections
Despite having used only three samples of fetusesthe CISC assures that the research group “has extensive experience in the study of brain development in mammals and is confident in the reliability of the results.”
“We already know of other types of viral infections that affect brain development during pregnancy and that can lead to anomalies& rdquor ;, says Martínez, an expert in human anatomy and embryology. “For example, the rubella and the zika cause the death of progenitor neurons, herpes can cause severe brain inflammation and parvo virus Congenital human B19 is behind many cases of encephalitis and severe brain atrophy& rdquor ;, he rivets.
The future
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As it is currently impossible to determine the long-term consequences of an infection in the womb, the researcher is committed to “now studying in the laboratory which cells and tissues of the nervous system may be affected”. “It is urgent to know how the ACE2 enzyme behaves in the developing human brain in order to prevent infection during pregnancymonitor the maturation of the fetal nervous system and, also, be able to assess the possible effects on the mental health of children born with exposure to the virus,” he adds.
The researchers recall in the scientific publication that the new variants of covid they are less aggressive but “more transmissible”, which increases the risk of contagion, particularly in the unvaccinated populationof childbearing age and with fewer health resources.