February 28, 2020

The ACE2 expression of maternal-fetal interface and fetal organs indicates potential risk of vertical transmission of SARS-COV-2

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Clinical Characteristics and Health Care Setting

• Li et al (2020) conducted an investigation into the capacity of vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 using Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a confirmed receptor of SARS-CoV-2 that plays essential roles in human infection and transmission. They used an open source online single-cell RNA sequencing data, to evaluate the cell specific expression of ACE2 in maternal-fetal interface as well as in multiple fetal organs. Results revealed that ACE2 was highly expressed in maternal-fetal interface in the placenta and many fetal organs, suggesting the potential capacity for the infection of SARS-CoV-2 to the fetus through the vertical transmission.

Li et al. (Feb 27, 2020). The ACE2 expression of maternal-fetal interface and fetal organs indicates potential risk of vertical transmission of SARS-COV-2. Pre-print downloaded Feb 28 from https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.27.967760