The atlas of ACE2 expression in fetal and adult human hearts reveals the potential mechanism of heart-injured patients infected with SARS-CoV-2.
Am J Physiol Cell Physiol
; 322(4): C723-C738, 2022 04 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1685743
ABSTRACT
Numerous studies have shown that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can infect host cells through binding to angiotensin I converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) expressing in various tissues and organs. In this study, we deeply analyzed the single-cell expression profiles of ACE2 in fetal and adult human hearts to explore the potential mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 harming the heart. The molecular docking software was used to simulate the binding of SARS-CoV-2 and its variant spike protein with ACE2. The genes closely related to ACE2 in renin-angiotensin system (RAS) were identified by constructing a protein-protein interaction network. Through the analysis of single-cell transcription profiles at different stages of human embryos, we found that the expression level of ACE2 in ventricular myocytes was increased with embryonic development. The results of single-cell sequencing analysis showed that the expression of ACE2 in ventricular myocytes was upregulated in heart failure induced by dilated cardiomyopathy compared with normal hearts. The upregulation of ACE2 increases the risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 in fetal and adult human hearts. We also further confirmed the expression of ACE2 and ACE2-related genes in normal and SARS-CoV-2-infected human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. In addition, the pathway analysis revealed that ACE2 may regulate the differently expressed genes in heart failure through calcium signaling pathway and Wnt signaling pathway.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Prognostic study
Topics:
Variants
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Pregnancy
Language:
English
Journal:
Am J Physiol Cell Physiol
Journal subject:
Physiology
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ajpcell.00169.2021
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS