Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

April 20, 2020

The scRNA-seq expression profiling of the receptor ACE2 and the cellular protease TMPRSS2 reveals human organs susceptible to COVID19 infection

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  • This study found evidence of COVID-19 infection in the nervous, digestive, reproductive, respiratory, circulatory and urine systems using scRNA-Seq data collected from 31 organs from 9 major human systems. The lungs, large intestine, fallopian tube and nose were found to be the most susceptible organs, indicating that SARS-CoV-2 mainly attacks the respiratory, digestive and reproductive systems. 
  • Studying viral susceptibility of multiple organs can aid clinical diagnosis and treatment of patients and contribute to a deeper understanding of viral pathogenesis. 

Qi et al. (Apr 18, 2020). The scRNA-seq expression profiling of the receptor ACE2 and the cellular protease TMPRSS2 reveals human organs susceptible to COVID19 infection. Pre-print downloaded Apr 20 from https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.16.045690