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Post-mortem lung tissue: the fossil record of the pathophysiology and immunopathology of severe COVID-19

2021; Elsevier BV; Volume: 10; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s2213-2600(21)00408-2

2213-2619

Luke Milross, Joaquim Majó, Nigel Cooper, Paul M. Kaye, Omer Ali Bayraktar, Andrew Filby, Andrew J. Fisher,

Long-Term Effects of COVID-19

The lungs are the main site that is affected in severe COVID-19, and post-mortem lung tissue provides crucial insights into the pathophysiology of severe disease. From basic histology to state-of-the-art multiparameter digital pathology technologies, post-mortem lung tissue provides snapshots of tissue architecture, and resident and inflammatory cell phenotypes and composition at the time of death. Contrary to early assumptions that COVID-19 in the lungs is a uniform disease, post-mortem findings have established a high degree of disease heterogeneity. Classic diffuse alveolar damage represents just one phenotype, with disease divisible by early and late progression as well as by pathophysiological process. A distinct lung tissue state occurs with secondary infection; extrapulmonary causes of death might also originate from a pathological process in the lungs linked to microthrombosis. This heterogeneity of COVID-19 lung disease must be recognised in the management of patients and in the development of novel treatment strategies.