SARS-CoV-2 infects primary human hepatocytes and induces proinflammatory and antiviral responses.
We read with interest the article by Luxenburger and Thimme, summarizing current knowledge about hepatic sequelae in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection (Luxenburger H et al., 2023). Here our data support a potential direct effect resulting from SARS-CoV-2 viral replication and its associated cytotoxicity within the liver. In addition to virus-mediated damage, immune-mediated inflammatory responses could further contribute to hepatic impairment accounting for the clinical observations. Our data therefore emphasize potential multimodal effects following hepatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and highlight primary human hepatocytes as suitable model to explore hepatic sequelae following coronavirus infection.