TUNEL staining of SARS-CoV-2 infected k18hACE2 mice ventral tegmental area.

(A)TUNEL positive cells in the VTA of brain sections from k18hACE2 mice uninfected or infected with 5×10⁴ PFU 7 days after administration. (B) Fluorescent image taken of three random microscope fields, and the number of TUNEL positive cells were counted in each image. The average of the three fields was then calculated and the result. The data are representative of 6 mice per group, **P<0.01.