Organ-on-a-chip reveals how SARS-CoV-2 invades blood vessels

These results indicate that suppression of CLDN5 expression is an essential mechanism for SARS-CoV-2-induced vascular endothelial barrier disruption, which increases the severity of Covid-19. The findings also indicate that up-regulation of CLDN5 expression is a new therapeutic strategy against Covid-19. 

The airway-on-a-chip technology, which can be used to reproduce the respiratory pathology of Covid-19 and search for therapeutic agents, is a promising tool for elucidating the pathogenesis of severe respiratory tract infections including Covid-19 and developing therapeutic drugs in the future. 

Source: Kyoto University