Fig. 1

SARS-CoV-2 distribution in blood and possible entry into brain across the CNS vascular barriers. a Nasal entry. SARS-CoV-2 enters the nasal cavity as droplets, and (1) enters the airways with the inspired air, (2) traffic into the nasal sub mucosa via the highly vasculature of the nose and enters the blood and/or lymphatics and (3) may get access to the olfactory nerves and thus olfactory bulb by going upstream, but to date there is no sound data to viral entry into brain. b Vasculature entry. After it enters the lungs it may cross the thin alveolar membrane and enters the blood to access all organs, including brain, but there is no evidence that ACE2 mediate viral entery into brain. c Blood brain barrier (BBB). This is a highly specialized structure at the interface between the blood and the brain. It is formed by tight junctions at the endothelial cells and forms part of a complex cellular structure known as the neurovascular unit (NVU). The NVU is the functional unit of the BBB and is composed of multiple cells including, pericytes, astrocytes, microglia and neurons interacting with the endothelial cell, as well as the basement membrane, which all can affect the barrier properties. ACE2 is expressed both on endothelial cell and pericytes as well as some neurons in the brain, but there is no evidence that ACE2 mediate viral entery into brain. d Choroid plexus. This is at the interface between the blood and the CSF, known as the blood CSF barrier (BCSFB). The endothelial cells of the choroid plexus are leakier than in the BBB, with gaps known as fenestrations. This allows for easier movement from the blood, but the epithelium cells at the apical side are more tightly knitted together (tight junction at the apex of the epithelium), and prevent entry into CSF [261, 262], as effective as the cerebral capillaries. The choroid plexus epithelium expresses ACE2 and this acts as a possible way for SARS-CoV-2 entry into CSF and then brain parenchyma, but there is no sound evidence for this