April 21, 2020

Specific ACE2 Expression in Small Intestinal Enterocytes may Cause Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Injury after 2019-nCoV Infection

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Clinical Characteristics and Health Care Setting

• This study summarizes clinical data from four recent studies involving clinical characteristics of COVID-19 to determine the incidence of GI symptoms and explore the potential mechanism of diarrhea and other GI manifestations of disease.
• Results reveal that ACE mRNA and proteins are highly expressed in the small intestine, which may mediate the invasion and amplification of SARS-CoV-2 and activation of GI inflammation.

Zhang et al. (April 18, 2020). Specific ACE2 Expression in Small Intestinal Enterocytes may Cause Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Injury after 2019-nCoV Infection. Int J Infect Dis. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2020.04.027