Placental Expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in Maternal Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection: Are Placental Defenses Mediated by Fetal Sex?
J Infect Dis
; 224(Suppl 6): S647-S659, 2021 12 08.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1559634
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and type II transmembrane serine protease (TMPRSS2), host molecules required for viral entry, may underlie sex differences in vulnerability to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. We investigated whether placental ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression vary by fetal sex in the presence of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection.METHODS:
Placental ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression was quantified by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and by Western blot in 68 pregnant women (38 SARS-CoV-2 positive, 30 SARS-CoV-2 negative) delivering at Mass General Brigham from April to June 2020. The impact of fetal sex and maternal SARS-CoV-2 exposure on ACE2 and TMPRSS2 was analyzed by 2-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).RESULTS:
Maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection impacted placental TMPRSS2 expression in a sexually dimorphic fashion (2-way ANOVA interaction, P = .002). We observed no impact of fetal sex or maternal SARS-CoV-2 status on ACE2. TMPRSS2 expression was significantly correlated with ACE2 expression in males (Spearman ρ = 0.54, P = .02) but not females (ρ = 0.23, P = .34) exposed to maternal SARS-CoV-2.CONCLUSIONS:
Sex differences in placental TMPRSS2 but not ACE2 were observed in the setting of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection, which may have implications for offspring vulnerability to placental infection.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Placenta
/
Serine Endopeptidases
/
Sex Factors
/
Fetal Blood
/
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Pregnancy
Language:
English
Journal:
J Infect Dis
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Infdis
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