Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42520549›Full record

SynthesisEBioMedicine2026

Low reporting quality limits the contribution of human organ models to COVID-19 research: a systematic review.

Maren Hülsemann, Silke Kniffert, Anna Löwa, Morris Baumgardt, Katja Hönzke, Valeria Fernandez Vallone, Natascha I Drude, Thomas Stüdemann, Ahmed S M Ali, Maria Arroyo Araujo and 25 more

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in EBioMedicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

35 authors.

Maren HülsemannBerlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, QUEST Center for Responsible Research, Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: maren.huelsemann@charite.de.
Silke KniffertBerlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, QUEST Center for Responsible Research, Berlin, Germany.
Anna LöwaDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Respiratory Medicine and Critical Care Medicine, Charité - University Medical Center Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany.
Morris BaumgardtDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Respiratory Medicine and Critical Care Medicine, Charité - University Medical Center Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany.
Katja HönzkeDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Respiratory Medicine and Critical Care Medicine, Charité - University Medical Center Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany; Brandenburg Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg, Faculty of Health Sciences, Senftenberg, Germany.
Valeria Fernandez ValloneBerlin Institute of Health at Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Core Unit Pluripotent Stem Cells and Organoids (CUSCO), Berlin, Germany.
Natascha I DrudeBerlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, QUEST Center for Responsible Research, Berlin, Germany.
Thomas StüdemannBerlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max Delbrueck Center in the Helmholtz Association, Berlin, Germany.
Ahmed S M AliTechnische Universität Berlin, Department of Applied Biochemistry, Berlin, Germany.
Maria Arroyo AraujoBerlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, QUEST Center for Responsible Research, Berlin, Germany.
Alexandra Bannach-BrownBerlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, QUEST Center for Responsible Research, Berlin, Germany; Institute of Social and Preventative Medicine, University of Bern, Switzerland.
Linda BrunotteInstitute of Virology, University Hospital Münster, University of Münster, Germany; Immunology of Respiratory Tract Infections, Medical Clinic V, University Giessen, Germany.
Aileen FaistInstitute of Virology, University Hospital Münster, University of Münster, Germany; Department of Anesthesiology, Intensive Care, and Pain Medicine, University Hospital Muenster, Germany.
Diana FatykhovaDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Respiratory Medicine and Critical Care Medicine, Charité - University Medical Center Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany.
Mara FischerDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Respiratory Medicine and Critical Care Medicine, Charité - University Medical Center Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany.
Lina HellwigCenter for Stroke Research Berlin, Charité - University Medical Center Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Department of Neurology with Experimental Neurology, Charité - University Medical Center Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Saskia HinseImmunology of Respiratory Tract Infections, Medical Clinic V, University Giessen, Germany.
Mirjana KesslerDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.
Benjamin G CarlisleBerlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, QUEST Center for Responsible Research, Berlin, Germany.
Sadaf KhankehBerlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, QUEST Center for Responsible Research, Berlin, Germany.
Ishminder Singh DhamraitBerlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, QUEST Center for Responsible Research, Berlin, Germany.
Charlotte KleinBerlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, QUEST Center for Responsible Research, Berlin, Germany.
Hristina KocevaCenter for Sepsis Control and Care, Institute of Biochemistry II, Universitätsklinikum Jena, Germany.
Sriram KumarInstitute of Virology, University Hospital Münster, University of Münster, Germany; Immunology of Respiratory Tract Infections, Medical Clinic V, University Giessen, Germany.
Jens KurreckTechnische Universität Berlin, Department of Applied Biochemistry, Berlin, Germany.
Katarzyna A LudwikBerlin Institute of Health at Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Core Unit Pluripotent Stem Cells and Organoids (CUSCO), Berlin, Germany.
Philipp MergenthalerCenter for Stroke Research Berlin, Charité - University Medical Center Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Department of Neurology with Experimental Neurology, Charité - University Medical Center Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Sarah S SchmerbeckCenter for Stroke Research Berlin, Charité - University Medical Center Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Department of Neurology with Experimental Neurology, Charité - University Medical Center Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Sameer SinghInstitute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Charité - University Medical Center Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Luiz Gustavo Teixeira AlvesBerlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max Delbrueck Center in the Helmholtz Association, Berlin, Germany.
Emanuel WylerBerlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max Delbrueck Center in the Helmholtz Association, Berlin, Germany.
Harald StachelscheidBerlin Institute of Health at Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Core Unit Pluripotent Stem Cells and Organoids (CUSCO), Berlin, Germany.
Stefan HippenstielDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Respiratory Medicine and Critical Care Medicine, Charité - University Medical Center Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany.
Ulf ToelchBerlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, QUEST Center for Responsible Research, Berlin, Germany.
Andreas C HockeDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Respiratory Medicine and Critical Care Medicine, Charité - University Medical Center Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic created a unique situation in which researchers repurposed human models of varying complexity to investigate SARS-CoV-2, providing the opportunity to analyse their contribution across organs.

methodsWe conducted a systematic review of 558 studies, divided into pandemic and post-pandemic periods, to assess how human models were applied to investigate host factors, viral replication of SARS-CoV-2, immune responses, and to evaluate reporting quality.

findingsOur analysis revealed substantial limitations that were only partially alleviated in post-pandemic studies. These limitations included heterogeneity of outcome measures, incomplete documentation of model characteristics and experimental procedures, and variable reporting quality, which were associated with reduced cross-study comparability, more difficult risk-of-bias assessment, and limited reliability and interpretability of evidence synthesis and meta-analytical results.

interpretationStrengthening community-driven reporting standards and methodological transparency is essential to enable robust evidence synthesis and to fully realise the potential of human organ models in future pandemics and translational research.

fundingThe study was supported by Einstein Foundation Berlin; Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space; European Union; Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung; Volkswagen Foundation; Charité 3R; Foundation Charité.

Indexed as

COVID-19Models, BiologicalHumansPandemicsSARS-CoV-2Virus ReplicationCOVID-19Human organ modelsMeta-analysisOrganoidsReporting qualitySystematic review

Identifiers

PMID42520549
PMCPMC13449789

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.