Age-determined expression of priming protease TMPRSS2 and localization of SARS-CoV-2 in lung epithelium.
J Clin Invest
; 131(1)2021 01 04.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1011053
ABSTRACT
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic has led to millions of cases and hundreds of thousands of deaths. While older adults appear at high risk for severe disease, hospitalizations and deaths due to SARS-CoV-2 among children have been relatively rare. Integrating single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) of developing mouse lung with temporally resolved immunofluorescence in mouse and human lung tissue, we found that expression of SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein primer TMPRSS2 was highest in ciliated cells and type I alveolar epithelial cells (AT1), and TMPRSS2 expression increased with aging in mice and humans. Analysis of autopsy tissue from fatal COVID-19 cases detected SARS-CoV-2 RNA most frequently in ciliated and secretory cells in airway epithelium and AT1 cells in peripheral lung. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was highly colocalized in cells expressing TMPRSS2. Together, these data demonstrate the cellular spectrum infected by SARS-CoV-2 in lung epithelium and suggest that developmental regulation of TMPRSS2 may underlie the relative protection of infants and children from severe respiratory illness.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Serine Endopeptidases
/
Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic
/
Alveolar Epithelial Cells
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Prognostic study
Limits:
Adult
/
Animals
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Infant
/
Male
Language:
English
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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