Although mounting evidence demonstrated that pancreas is infected by SARS-CoV-2
the severity and pathophysiology of pancreatic COVID-19 disease are still unclear. Here
we investigated the consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection of the pancreas and the role
of Placenta-associated protein-8 (PLAC8). Our data showed pancreatic damage in
patients who died from COVID-19. Notably, circulating pancreatic enzymes stratified
patients according to COVID-19 severity and outcome. PLAC8 expression was
associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in postmortem analysis of COVID-19 patients and
functional assays demonstrated the requirement of PLAC8 in SARS-CoV-2 pancreatic
infection. Full SARS-CoV-2 infectious virus revealed a requirement of PLAC8 for efficient
viral infection of pancreatic cell lines. Finally, we observed colocalization of PLAC8 and
SARS-CoV-2 in the pancreas of deceased patients. In conclusion, our data confirm the
human pancreas as a SARS-CoV-2 target and demonstrate the requirement of PLAC8
for SARS-CoV-2 pancreatic infection thereby opening new target opportunities for
COVID-19-associated pancreatic pathogenesis.N
