Study of protection against pulmonary fibrosis by plant extracts after SARS-CoV-2 infection

Abstract

ABSTRACT : The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) marks the third highly pathogenic coronavirus to spill over into the human population. The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is a highly transmittable and pathogenic viral infection caused by SARS CoV-2, which emerged in 2019, spreading around the world affecting millions of people worldwide. Studies indicate that one of the life-threatening pathologies observed in COVID-19 patients is a chronic and progressive fibrotic lung disease. Pulmonary fibrosis resulting from active fibroblasts under stress leading to overexpression and accumulation of collagen fibers in lungs compromising their proper functioning. Many plants possess a variety of bioactive compounds with many properties, which are used in traditional and modern medicine, due to their potential to produce phytopharmaceutical compounds. We have analyzed the potential antifibrotic activity of extracts derived of Marchantia polymorpha from which crucial genes for plant stress response were identified in SARS-CoV-2 induced pulmonary fibrosis. To recreate an in vitro COVID-19 pro-fibrotic lung environment, neumocytes type II (ATII) cells and fibroblasts were extracted from clinical samples, and mixed with SARS-CoV-2. Using qPCR analysis, immunofluorescence, enzymatic detections, transmission electron microscopy and Q FISH techniques we could observed differences in fibroblasts activity under SARS-CoV-2 infection and a protective antifibrotic effect of some Marchantia polymorpha-derived extracts that reduced fibrosis in a COVID-19-infected lung environment in vitro. These results are an insight of the potential as anti-fibrotic drugs of extracts derived from plants such as Marchantia polymorpha to offer new therapeutic solutions to patients suffering from fibrosis secondary to COVID-19 infection