COVID-19 CAN INFECT EMBRYOS, RESULT IN MISCARRIAGES: STUDY

MUMBAI: Embryos as old as five days can develop receptors that are known to provide an easy passage to Sars-cov-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, according to a new study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research and National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health (ICMR-NIRRH) on 45 human embryos donated after in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures at fertility clinics.

According to researchers, the findings indicate that embryos can get infected with Covid-19 in the womb from infected mothers and also during IVF procedures in laboratories which, according to them, increases the chances of a miscarriage or even failure to conceive in both natural and Ivf-induced pregnancy.

Though no cumulative data is available on the total number of miscarriages recorded among coronavirus-infected pregnant women, a significant number of private and civic-run hospitals have reported such cases.

Receptor is a specific protein that provides an entry point to the virus to hook into and infect a wide range of human cells. Studies have found that Sarscov-2 infects the lungs through the receptor — angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) — and enzyme TMPRSS2.

The ICMR-NIRRH study — expression map of entry receptors and infectivity factors for pan-coronaviruses in preimplantation and implantation stage human embryos published in the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics in May – found that many cells of the embryos that fertilized as early as five days express the same receptors — ACE2 and TMPRSS2. Dr Deepak Modi, lead investigator of the study, said the new finding has established the fact that embryos are susceptible to contracting the infection either from the infected mother to the foetus or during artificial fertilisation.