Detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus in pneumocytes of the lung.
Previous reports have indicated that patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-associated coronavirus infection could develop atypical pneumonia with fulminant pulmonary edema. However, the target cells of SARS viral infection have not been characterized in detail. We report the pathologic findings of the lung in 3 cases of SARS. Chest radiographs at 2 to 3 weeks of infection revealed an atypical pneumonia with pulmonary consolidation, a clinical characteristic of SARS infection. The presence of the SARS virus was determined by nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and the infected cells were identified by in situ hybridization in open-lung biopsy and postmortem necropsy specimens. Expression of SARS virus-encoded RNA was detected in all 3 cases by RT-PCR, and the SARS viral signal was localized in pneumocytes by using in situ hybridization.
Chow
Kuan-Chih
KC
Institute of Biomedical Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan.
Hsiao
Cheng-Hsiang
CH
Lin
Tze-Yi
TY
Chen
Chi-Long
CL
Chiou
Shiow-Her
SH
D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000378:metabolism; D015214:Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic / Q000378:metabolism; D018925:Chemokines / Q000235:genetics; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D045473:Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology*; D000097382:CD68 Molecule
D015703:Antigens, CD; D015214:Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic; D018925:Chemokines; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase; C067980:CD68 antigen, human; D000097382:CD68 Molecule