Scientists release first-ever high-powered microscopic images of COVID-19

On September 13, scientists at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Children’s Research Institute released the first-ever high-powered microscopic images of the SARS-CoV-2 infection in the lungs airways. A team of scientists, including Camille Ehre, captured the COVID-19 infection progressing on the lab-grown respiratory tract cells which demonstrates the intensity of the infection across lung tissues and how rapidly it could spread to others. Images depict a large number of coronavirus particles settled on the human respiratory surfaces which were first recorded as monochrome, then later re-colourized and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. 

According to the scientists, the images released show the infectious form of SARS-CoV-2 as released by infected host cells onto respiratory surfaces. Scientists first injected the novel coronavirus into the laboratory bronchial epithelial cells of the human lungs and then examined the progress of the COVID-19 respiratory disease for almost 96 hours with a high-powered scanning electron microscopy. Later, the images of the coronavirus on the human respiratory surface were captured that also suggest the importance of the usage of masks, given the large amount of the virus burden observed in the lung airways. 

“Large viral load is a source for the spread of infection to multiple organs and determines the frequency of coronavirus transmission to others,” scientists explained in the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. 

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Hairy ciliated cells infected

The scientists from the University of North Carolina (UNC) suggest in the study that the large coronavirus burden on the respiratory surfaces could rapidly lead to the infection of multiple organs in a coronavirus positive individual. Therefore, to limit the amount of this virus load, that determines the intensity of the illness, the use of masks must be mandated. In the images, it can be seen that the hairy ciliated cells in the lungs are infected with strands of mucus attached to cilia tips. These hair-like structures transport mucus and trapped viruses from the surface of airway epithelial cells in the lungs.

The density of the coronavirus on the human airway epithelia can be seen in the images, which also depict the large number of virions produced and released per cell in the respiratory system.

“Virion is an entire virus particle consisting of an outer protein shell (capsid) and an inner core of nucleic acid (either RNA or DNA),” Scientists explained in the study. 

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(Images Credit: New England Journal of Medicine.)