| First Author | Schuler BA | Year | 2021 |
| Journal | J Clin Invest | Volume | 131 |
| Issue | 1 | PubMed ID | 33180746 |
| Mgi Jnum | J:357115 | Mgi Id | MGI:6780314 |
| Doi | doi: 10.1038/s41368-024-00323-x | Citation | Schuler BA, et al. (2021) Age-determined expression of priming protease TMPRSS2 and localization of SARS-CoV-2 in lung epithelium. J Clin Invest 131(1) |
| abstractText | The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic has led to millions of cases and hundreds of thousands of deaths. While older adults appear at high risk for severe disease, hospitalizations and deaths due to SARS-CoV-2 among children have been relatively rare. Integrating single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) of developing mouse lung with temporally resolved immunofluorescence in mouse and human lung tissue, we found that expression of SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein primer TMPRSS2 was highest in ciliated cells and type I alveolar epithelial cells (AT1), and TMPRSS2 expression increased with aging in mice and humans. Analysis of autopsy tissue from fatal COVID-19 cases detected SARS-CoV-2 RNA most frequently in ciliated and secretory cells in airway epithelium and AT1 cells in peripheral lung. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was highly colocalized in cells expressing TMPRSS2. Together, these data demonstrate the cellular spectrum infected by SARS-CoV-2 in lung epithelium and suggest that developmental regulation of TMPRSS2 may underlie the relative protection of infants and children from severe respiratory illness. |
