Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

May 10, 2021

Reverse-Transcribed SARS-CoV-2 RNA Can Integrate into the Genome of Cultured Human Cells and Can Be Expressed in Patient-Derived Tissues

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  • A study using RNA sequencing found evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 RNA may be able to integrate into human cell genomes in vitro, perhaps explaining the persistence of viral RNA among patients even after recovery from COVID-19. The authors found evidence that suggests viral–host chimeric transcripts are created via long interspersed nuclear elements, which reverse-transcribe RNA into DNA. 

Zhang et al. (May 25, 2021). Reverse-Transcribed SARS-CoV-2 RNA Can Integrate into the Genome of Cultured Human Cells and Can Be Expressed in Patient-Derived Tissues. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2105968118