Can ACE2 expression explain SARS‐CoV‐2 infection of the respiratory epithelia in COVID‐19?

Infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) leads to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), which poses an unprecedented worldwide health crisis, and has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. The angiotensin converting enzyme...

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Main Authors: Martijn C Nawijn, Wim Timens
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2020-07-01
Series:Molecular Systems Biology
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.15252/msb.20209841
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spelling doaj-412ec50fe57d4756b8ef8a33e5458edd2021-08-02T15:11:35ZengWileyMolecular Systems Biology1744-42922020-07-01167n/an/a10.15252/msb.20209841Can ACE2 expression explain SARS‐CoV‐2 infection of the respiratory epithelia in COVID‐19?Martijn C Nawijn0Wim Timens1Department of Pathology and Medical Biology University Medical Center Groningen GRIAC Research Institute University of Groningen Groningen The NetherlandsDepartment of Pathology and Medical Biology University Medical Center Groningen GRIAC Research Institute University of Groningen Groningen The NetherlandsInfection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) leads to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), which poses an unprecedented worldwide health crisis, and has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. The angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) has been suggested to be the key protein used by SARS‐CoV‐2 for host cell entry. In their recent work, Lindskog and colleagues (Hikmet et al, 2020) report that ACE2 is expressed at very low protein levels—if at all—in respiratory epithelial cells. Severe COVID‐19, however, is characterized by acute respiratory distress syndrome and extensive damage to the alveoli in the lung parenchyma. Then, what is the role of the airway epithelium in the early stages of COVID‐19, and which cells need to be studied to characterize the biological mechanisms responsible for the progression to severe disease after initial infection by the novel coronavirus?https://doi.org/10.15252/msb.20209841
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Martijn C Nawijn
Wim Timens
spellingShingle Martijn C Nawijn
Wim Timens
Can ACE2 expression explain SARS‐CoV‐2 infection of the respiratory epithelia in COVID‐19?
Molecular Systems Biology
author_facet Martijn C Nawijn
Wim Timens
author_sort Martijn C Nawijn
title Can ACE2 expression explain SARS‐CoV‐2 infection of the respiratory epithelia in COVID‐19?
title_short Can ACE2 expression explain SARS‐CoV‐2 infection of the respiratory epithelia in COVID‐19?
title_full Can ACE2 expression explain SARS‐CoV‐2 infection of the respiratory epithelia in COVID‐19?
title_fullStr Can ACE2 expression explain SARS‐CoV‐2 infection of the respiratory epithelia in COVID‐19?
title_full_unstemmed Can ACE2 expression explain SARS‐CoV‐2 infection of the respiratory epithelia in COVID‐19?
title_sort can ace2 expression explain sars‐cov‐2 infection of the respiratory epithelia in covid‐19?
publisher Wiley
series Molecular Systems Biology
issn 1744-4292
publishDate 2020-07-01
description Infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) leads to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), which poses an unprecedented worldwide health crisis, and has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. The angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) has been suggested to be the key protein used by SARS‐CoV‐2 for host cell entry. In their recent work, Lindskog and colleagues (Hikmet et al, 2020) report that ACE2 is expressed at very low protein levels—if at all—in respiratory epithelial cells. Severe COVID‐19, however, is characterized by acute respiratory distress syndrome and extensive damage to the alveoli in the lung parenchyma. Then, what is the role of the airway epithelium in the early stages of COVID‐19, and which cells need to be studied to characterize the biological mechanisms responsible for the progression to severe disease after initial infection by the novel coronavirus?
url https://doi.org/10.15252/msb.20209841
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