A research study has recently revealed that the prime targets for SARS-CoV-2 are goblet cells and not ciliated cells . The study has also established that the presence of hyperplasia in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a strong indicator of a high risk of severe COVID-19 infection. A breakthrough research was conducted on patients with COPD at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, and the National Institute of Allergy and Immunology. Scientists have identified that SARS-CoV-2 primarily targets the goblet cells and not ciliated cells in the airway.
The study is available on BioRxiv, a pre-print server, and is currently under review. The study was conducted using an airway epithelium model and was aimed to study the pathophysiology of SARS-CoV-2 in healthy and COPD-affected lungs. Upon…
