SARS-CoV-2 airway infection results in the development of somatosensory abnormalities in a hamster model

Science Some people infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, experience a range of symptoms after the resolution of infection, such as neurological issues that include generalized pain, neuropathy, and myalgia. Serafini et al. found that non-infectious viral RNA was detectable in the dorsal root ganglia of hamsters after intranasal infection with SARS-CoV-2. This phenomenon was associated with a durable gene expression signature in sensory neurons that partly resembled those of mouse models of inflammatory and injury-induced neuropathic pain but was distinct from those in mice infected with influenza virus. The findings further identify the cytokine-associated factor ILF3 and other potential therapeutic targets to treat pain associated with long COVID and other neuropathies