Year: 2024
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background COVID-19 patients exhibit higher incidence of thrombosis in arteries and veins, including those in lungs. Vasa vasorum, which support large blood vessels, have shown involvement in these pathologic processes. Methods To further explore the extent of microvascular damage caused by COVID-19 infection, we examined resected main, right, or left pulmonary artery specimens from patients undergoing bilateral lung transplantation for COVID-19– or non–COVID-19–induced pulmonary fibrosis compared with organ donors by histologic and immunohistologic analyses. Results Vasa vasorum density was found to be higher in specimens procured from patients with COVID-19 and associated with pulmonary artery hypertension compared with lung transplant donors. In addition, we found immunothrombosis within vasa vasorum in specimens from COVID-19 patients with more immune infiltration, including CD15 + , CD44 + , and CD68 + cells. Conclusions These findings reveal that COVID-19 affects the vasa vasorum of pulmonary arteries and suggest that infection may lead to large-vessel dysfunction and organ failure.
Language: English
Subfield: Infectious Diseases
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $975
OpenAlex ID: W4391250980