Isolation and Cell Culture of Human Nasopharyngeal Cells: A Model for Testing Immune Response and Antiviral Treatment

Abstract

The use of in vitro methods of infecting cell lines to test new treatments for SARS-CoV-2 does not always recapitulate the real context of the infection, and mouse models for SARS-CoV-2 infection are limited. Here we describe a novel ex vivo approach by collecting, isolating, and culturing nasal epithelial cells obtained from patients with COVID-19. This technique allows us to study immune responses and test new treatments directly on cells from patients naturally infected with SARS-CoV-2.