ABSTRACT
The novel coronavirus is a new kind of enemy. Now, the United States Army has added a cutting-edge tool to its arsenal to better understand this threat: "organs-on-chips" that recapitulate the microarchitecture and function of living human lungs.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/metabolism , Lab-On-A-Chip Devices , Lung/metabolism , SARS-CoV-2/metabolism , Tissue Array Analysis , COVID-19/therapy , HumansABSTRACT
Background: Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) allow entry of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) into host cells and play essential roles in cancer therapy. However, the functions of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in kidney cancer remain unclear, especially as kidneys are targets for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: UCSC Xena project, the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases (GSE30589 and GSE59185) were searched for gene expression in human tissues, gene expression data, and clinical information. Several bioinformatics methods were utilized to analyze the correlation between ACE2 and TMPRSS2 with respect to the prognosis of kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) and kidney renal papillary cell carcinoma (KIRP). Results: ACE2 expression was significantly upregulated in tumor tissue, while its downregulation was associated with low survival in KIRC and KIRP patients. TMPRSS2 was downregulated in KIRC and KIRP, and its expression was not correlated with patient survival. According to clinical risk factor-based prediction models, ACE2 exhibits predictive accuracy for kidney cancer prognosis and is correlated with metabolism and immune infiltration. In an animal model, ACE2 expression was remarkably downregulated in SARS-CoV-2-infected cells compared to in the control. Conclusion: ACE2 expression is highly correlated with various metabolic pathways and is involved in immune infiltration.it plays a crucial role than TMPRSS2 in diagnosing and prognosis of kidney cancer patients. The overlap in ACE2 expression between kidney cancer and SARS-CoV-2 infection suggests that patients with KIRC or KIRP are at high risk of developing serious symptoms.
Subject(s)
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/biosynthesis , COVID-19/complications , Carcinoma, Renal Cell/complications , Kidney Neoplasms/complications , Receptors, Virus/biosynthesis , SARS-CoV-2 , Adult , Aged , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/genetics , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/physiology , Animals , Carcinoma, Renal Cell/immunology , Carcinoma, Renal Cell/metabolism , Carcinoma, Renal Cell/mortality , Chlorocebus aethiops , Down-Regulation , Drug Resistance, Neoplasm , Female , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Gene Regulatory Networks , Humans , Kaplan-Meier Estimate , Kidney Neoplasms/immunology , Kidney Neoplasms/metabolism , Kidney Neoplasms/mortality , Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating/immunology , Male , Middle Aged , Models, Animal , Neoplasm Proteins/biosynthesis , Neoplasm Proteins/genetics , Organ Specificity , Prognosis , Proportional Hazards Models , Receptors, Virus/genetics , Renin-Angiotensin System/physiology , Serine Endopeptidases/biosynthesis , Serine Endopeptidases/genetics , Serine Endopeptidases/physiology , Tissue Array Analysis , Vero CellsABSTRACT
Modeling immunity in vitro has the potential to be a powerful tool for investigating fundamental biological questions, informing therapeutics and vaccines, and providing new insight into disease progression. There are two major elements to immunity that are necessary to model: primary immune tissues and peripheral tissues with immune components. Here, we systematically review progress made along three strategies to modeling immunity: ex vivo cultures, which preserve native tissue structure; microfluidic devices, which constitute a versatile approach to providing physiologically relevant fluid flow and environmental control; and engineered tissues, which provide precise control of the 3D microenvironment and biophysical cues. While many models focus on disease modeling, more primary immune tissue models are necessary to advance the field. Moving forward, we anticipate that the expansion of patient-specific models may inform why immunity varies from patient to patient and allow for the rapid comprehension and treatment of emerging diseases, such as coronavirus disease 2019.