{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,9]],"date-time":"2025-12-09T15:48:51Z","timestamp":1765295331194,"version":"3.40.5"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"Bioscientifica","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,1]],"date-time":"2022-08-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1659312000000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["etj.bioscientifica.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n<jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>To understand whether thyroid cells can be directly infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and to establish a putative correlation with the expression of the host entry machinery: ACE-2, TMPRSS2, and furin.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>We assessed the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus at the gene level by RT-PCR, viral RNA transcripts localization by <jats:italic>in situ<\/jats:italic> hybridization, and by detecting viral proteins by immunohistochemistry for the nucleocapsid and the spike proteins. Furthermore, we also described the immunoexpression of key host factors for virus entry in the COVID-19 thyroid samples.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>We performed RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 in all autopsy specimens and detected viral genome positivity in 13 of 15 thyroid tissues and in a lung specimen. In 9 of the 14 positive samples, we were also able to confirm SARS-CoV-2 signal by <jats:italic>in situ<\/jats:italic> hybridization. Immunohistochemistry for the viral nucleocapsid and spike protein was also positive for ten and nine of the RT-PCR-positive cases, respectively, but revealed a lower sensitivity. We also described, for the first time in a COVID-19 series, the immunohistochemical expression of ACE-2, TMPRSS2, and furin in the thyroid.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Our results obtained in thyroid specimens from deceased COVID-19 patients indicate that thyrocytes can be directly infected by SARS-CoV-2 since we detected the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genome in follicular cells. Nevertheless, we did not find a clear correlation between the presence of viral genome and the expression of the host factors for virus entry, namely ACE-2, TMPRSS2, and furin.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1530\/etj-22-0074","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,6,23]],"date-time":"2022-06-23T22:12:46Z","timestamp":1656022366000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1530\/crossmarkpolicy-16","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["Detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection in thyroid follicular cells from a COVID-19 autopsy series"],"prefix":"10.1530","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Sofia","family":"Macedo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Research & Innovation in Health, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Ana","family":"Pestana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Research & Innovation in Health, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Liliana","family":"Santos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"North Lisbon University Hospital Center, Lisbon, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Celestino","family":"Neves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"University Hospital Center of S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o, Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Susana","family":"Guimar\u00e3es","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"University Hospital Center of S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o, Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Amaro","family":"Duarte-Neto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of S\u00e3o Paulo, S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil"}]},{"given":"Marisa","family":"Dolhnikoff","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of S\u00e3o Paulo, S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil"}]},{"given":"Paulo","family":"Saldiva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of S\u00e3o Paulo, S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil"}]},{"given":"Georgina","family":"Alves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Research & Innovation in Health, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Rute","family":"Oliveira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Research & Innovation in Health, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Didier","family":"Cabanes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Research & Innovation in Health, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"F\u00e1tima","family":"Carneiro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Research & Innovation in Health, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"University Hospital Center of S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o, Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Manuel","family":"Sobrinho-Sim\u00f5es","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"University Hospital Center of S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o, Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9607-6998","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Paula","family":"Soares","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Research & Innovation in Health, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"416","reference":[{"key":"bib1","series-title":"Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism","first-page":"e803","article-title":"Thyroid function Before, During, and After COVID-19","volume":"106","author":"Khoo","year":"2021","unstructured":"Khoo BTan TClarke SAMills EGPatel BModi MPhylactou MEng PCThurston LAlexander EC, Thyroid function Before, During, and After COVID-19. 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