Single-cell RNA Analysis on ACE2 Expression Provides Insight into SARS-CoV-2 Blood Entry and Heart Injury
Single-cell RNA Analysis on ACE2 Expression Provides Insight into SARS-CoV-2 Blood Entry and Heart Injury
Abstract COVID-19 is a global pandemic with high infectivity and pathogenicity, accounting for tens of thousands of deaths worldwide. Recent studies have found that the pathogen of COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, shares the same cell receptor Angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE2) with SARS-CoV. The pathological investigation of COVID-19 death showed that the lung had the characteristics of pulmonary fibrosis. However, how SARS-CoV-2 spreads from the lungs to other organs has not yet been determined. Here, we performed an unbiased evaluation of cell-type specific expression of ACE2 in healthy and fibrotic lungs, as well as in normal and failed adult human hearts, using published single-cell RNA-seq data. We found that ACE2 expression in fibrotic lungs mainly locates in arterial vascular cells, which might provide the route for bloodstream spreading of SARS-CoV-2. The failed human hearts have a higher percentage of ACE2-expressing cardiomyocytes, and SARS-CoV-2 might attack cardiomyocytes through the bloodstream in patients with heart failure. Moreover, ACE2 was highly expressed in cells infected by RSV or MERS-CoV and in mice treated by LPS. Our findings indicate that patients with pulmonary fibrosis, heart failure, and virus infection have a higher risk and are more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection. SARS-CoV-2 might attack other organs by getting into the bloodstream. This work provides new insights into SARS-CoV-2 blood entry and heart injury and might propose a therapeutic strategy to prevent patients from developing severe complications.
Li Liliang、Zhang Xinyue、Qin Yue、Zhi Xiuling、Guo Jieyu、Wang Xinhong、Shi Yu、Yang Zhaohua、Meng Dan、Li Qinhan、Wei Xiangxiang
Department of forensic medicine, school of basic medical sciences, Fudan UniversityInstitute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Research Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of SciencesDepartment of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan UniversityDepartment of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan UniversityDepartment of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan UniversityDepartment of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan UniversityDepartment of Cardiovascular Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, The Shanghai Institute of Cardiovascular DiseasesDepartment of Cardiovascular Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, The Shanghai Institute of Cardiovascular DiseasesDepartment of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan UniversityDepartment of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan UniversityDepartment of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University
基础医学生物科学研究方法、生物科学研究技术分子生物学
Li Liliang,Zhang Xinyue,Qin Yue,Zhi Xiuling,Guo Jieyu,Wang Xinhong,Shi Yu,Yang Zhaohua,Meng Dan,Li Qinhan,Wei Xiangxiang.Single-cell RNA Analysis on ACE2 Expression Provides Insight into SARS-CoV-2 Blood Entry and Heart Injury[EB/OL].(2025-03-28)[2025-04-28].https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.31.20047621.点此复制
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