Microgliosis, astrogliosis and loss of aquaporin-4 polarity in frontal cortex of COVID-19 patients

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2), causing human coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), not only affects the respiratory tract, but also impacts other organs including the brain. A considerable number of COVID-19 patients develop neuropsychiatric symptoms that may linger for weeks and months and contribute to “long-COVID”. While the neurological symptoms of COVID-19 are well described, the cellular mechanisms of neurologic disorders attributed to the infection are still enigmatic. Here, we studied the effect of an infection with SARS-CoV-2 on the structure and expression of marker proteins of astrocytes and microglial cells in the frontal cortex of patients who died from COVID-19 in comparison to non-COVID-19 controls. Most of COVID-19 patients had microglial cells with retracted processes and rounded and enlarged cell bodies in both gray and white matter, as visualized by anti-Iba1 staining and confocal fluorescence microscopy. In addition, gray matter astrocytes in COVID-19 patients were frequently labeled by intense anti-GFAP staining, whereas in non-COVID-19 controls, most gray matter astrocytes expressed little GFAP. The most striking difference between astrocytes in COVID-19 patients and controls was found by anti-aquaporin-4 (AQP4) staining. In COVID-19 patients, a large number of gray matter astrocytes showed an increase in AQP4. In addition, AQP4 polarity was lost and AQP4 covered the entire cell, including the cell body and all cell processes, while in controls, AQP4 immunostaining was mainly detected in endfeet around blood vessels and did not visualize the cell body. In summary, our data suggest neuroinflammation upon SARS-CoV-2 infection including microgliosis and astrogliosis, including loss of AQP4 polarity.