Research team provides insight into COVID-19 lung damage

From left, KAIST professor Ju Young-seok, Dr. Lee Joo-hyeon of the University of Cambridge, National Institute of Health's head of viral disease research Choi Byeong-sun, Institute of Basic Science Director Ko Gou Young and Seoul National University Hospital professor Kim Young-tae / Courtesy of KAIST

By Kim Bo-eun

A research team led by the Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology (KAIST) professor Ju Young-seok has set up a COVID-19 infection model, the university said earlier this week.

KAIST said the model identifies the process in which the coronavirus destroys lung cells, which can contribute to the development of vaccines.

The team derived cells from human lung tissue and grew them into 3D “mini lungs” to look into their response to the virus. This was developed because available laboratory strains of mice are not readily infected by the virus that causes COVID-19.

The research team is comprised of Ju, Dr. Lee Joo-hyeon of the University of Cambridge, National Institute of Health head of viral disease research Choi Byeong-sun, Institute of Basic Science Director Ko Gou-young and Seoul National University Hospital professor Kim Young-tae.

Genome Insight, a firm established by KAIST faculty including Ju, also took part in the research.

Their work was published Oct. 21 in the scientific journal Cell Stem Cell, in a paper titled "Three-dimensional human alveolar stem cell culture models reveal infection response to SARS-CoV-2." SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19.

The paper details the mechanisms underlying infection by the virus and the early innate immune response in the lungs.

"If we expand the developed model, this will be able to be utilized for various research into the infection of respiratory viruses," Ju said.

Over 44 million accumulated infections of COVID-19 have occurred globally, since the outbreak began last December.