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To understand the association of amyloid-\u03b2 plaques and pathogenic infections in the central nervous system, we obtained viable short-interval postmortem human retinal tissue and generated human retinal organoids that contain electrophysiologically active neurons. Here, we demonstrate that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) induces amyloid-\u03b2 extracellular protein aggregates in human retinal explants and retinal organoids. Last, pharmacological inhibition of neuropilin-1 resulted in reduced amyloid-\u03b2 deposition in human retinal explants treated with SARS-CoV-2 Spike 1 protein. These results suggest that Spike 1 protein, during infection with SARS-CoV-2, can induce amyloid-\u03b2 aggregation, which may be associated with the neurological symptoms experienced in COVID-19.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1126\/sciadv.ads5006","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,4]],"date-time":"2025-07-04T17:58:27Z","timestamp":1751651907000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.34133\/aaas_crossmark","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":17,"title":["SARS-CoV-2 induces Alzheimer\u2019s disease\u2013related amyloid-\u03b2 pathology in ex vivo human retinal explants and retinal organoids"],"prefix":"10.1126","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1432-9547","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Sean J.","family":"Miller","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 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