Pathological effects of SARS-CoV-2 on hESC-derived peripheral neurons

Patients with recent pandemic of Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) complains of neurological symptoms unlike typical coronavirus infections. However, the absence of studies utilizing proper models of human peripheral nerve is hampering an understanding of COVID-19 pathogenesis. We, here, employed human embryonic stem cell derived peripheral neurons to validate change in transcriptome in human peripheral neurons. Transcriptome analysis of infected peripheral neurons indicates that chemosensory abnormalities in olfaction and gustation are associated with dysfunction and death of peripheral neurons. Biological replicates of hESC-derived peripheral neurons prepared under thoroughly isolated conditions were infected with SARS-CoV-2, and each subset was analyzed.