Exploiting digital histology approaches to probe the pathophysiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection

COVID-19 is a complex multi-phase disease. In most people an early innate immune response transitions into a broadly effective adaptive immune response that controls the virus. However, 20-30% of symptomatic patients require hospitalisation, with ICU admission rates ranging from 4.9-11.5%, and overall fatality rates of around 0.5%. Long-term inflammation in patients receiving supportive care in ICU can lead to pulmonary fibrosis, representing a third phase of the disease.

 

The success of broad-acting immunosupressants such as dexamethasome clearly demonstrates that while the immune system is involved in disease amelioration it also causes disease exacerbation. Understanding what factors underpin the transition between each phase in the lungs, the site of primary infection, and other organs is required for full understanding of the pathophysiology of SARSCoV-2. Through various researches, our ultimate goal is to inform the optimal selection and scheduling of therapeutic approaches. To achieve this we have undertaken a wide ranging analysis of post-mortem samples from patients at the different stages of COVID-19 disease. Selected results will be presented during the talk.

 

The talk will also cover a range of digital pathology and tissue multiplexing techniques, discuss differences in capabilities of specific research platforms and how they can be effectively combined to probe the biology of the tissue microenvironment.

 

Learning Objectives