Version 1
: Received: 1 May 2020 / Approved: 3 May 2020 / Online: 3 May 2020 (08:49:19 CEST)
How to cite:
Liu, Y.; Qu, H.; Tian, L.; Hakonarson, H. Expression Pattern of the SARS-CoV-2 Receptor ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in the Respiratory Tract. Preprints2020, 2020050040 (doi: 10.20944/preprints202005.0040.v1).
Liu, Y.; Qu, H.; Tian, L.; Hakonarson, H. Expression Pattern of the SARS-CoV-2 Receptor ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in the Respiratory Tract. Preprints 2020, 2020050040 (doi: 10.20944/preprints202005.0040.v1).
Cite as:
Liu, Y.; Qu, H.; Tian, L.; Hakonarson, H. Expression Pattern of the SARS-CoV-2 Receptor ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in the Respiratory Tract. Preprints2020, 2020050040 (doi: 10.20944/preprints202005.0040.v1).
Liu, Y.; Qu, H.; Tian, L.; Hakonarson, H. Expression Pattern of the SARS-CoV-2 Receptor ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in the Respiratory Tract. Preprints 2020, 2020050040 (doi: 10.20944/preprints202005.0040.v1).
Abstract
To address the expression pattern of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2 and the viral priming protease, TMPRSS2, in the respiratory tract, this study investigated RNA sequencing transcriptome profiling of samples of airway and oral mucosa. As shown, ACE2 has medium levels of expression in both small airway epithelium and masticatory mucosa, and high levels of expression in nasal epithelium. The expression of ACE2 is low in mucosal associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, and can’t be detected in alveolar macrophages. TMPRSS2 is highly expressed in small airway epithelium and nasal epithelium, and has lower expression in masticatory mucosa. Our results highlights that the nasal mucosa is the most susceptible locus in the respiratory tract for SARS-CoV-2 infection and consequently for subsequent droplet transmission and should be the focus for protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Subject Areas
ACE2; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; TMPRSS2
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Yichuan Liu