Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid and Microvascular Disease in the Brain: A Case Report

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection can cause a wide range of neurological complications however its neuropenetrance during the acute phase of the illness is unknown.Extracellular vesicles were isolated from brain biopsy tissue from a patient undergoing epilepsy surgery using ultracentrifugation and analyzed by Western blot and qPCR for the presence of virus protein and RNA, respectively. Biopsy tissue was assessed by immunohistochemistry for the presence of microvascular damage and compared to three other non-COVID surgical epilepsy brain tissues.We demonstrate the presence of viral nucleocapsid protein in extracellular vesicles and microvascular disease in the brain of a patient undergoing epilepsy surgery shortly after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Endothelial cell activation was indicated by increased levels of PECAM-1 and was associated with fibrinogen leakage and immune cell infiltration in the biopsy tissue as compared to control non-COVID surgical epilepsy brain tissues.Despite the lack of evidence of viral replication within the brain, the presence of the nucleocapsid protein was associated with disease-specific endothelial cell activation, fibrinogen leakage, and immune cell infiltration.