1. ACE2, TMPRSS2, and furin gene expression in the airways of people with asthma—implications for COVID-19
- Author
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Timothy S. C. Hinks, Peter Bradding, David F. Choy, Matthew Richardson, Salman Siddiqui, Peter H. Howarth, Sally E. Wenzel, and Joseph R. Arron
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Adult ,0301 basic medicine ,China ,FURIN Gene ,Pneumonia, Viral ,Immunology ,ACE2 ,bronchial biopsy ,Disease ,Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A ,TMPRSS2 ,Article ,Betacoronavirus ,Th2 ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Risk Factors ,Gene expression ,medicine ,Humans ,Immunology and Allergy ,Risk factor ,Pandemics ,Furin ,Retrospective Studies ,Asthma ,Inpatients ,biology ,SARS-CoV-2 ,business.industry ,COVID-19 ,bronchial brush ,asthma ,medicine.disease ,respiratory tract diseases ,IL-17 ,Pneumonia ,030104 developmental biology ,030228 respiratory system ,biology.protein ,Coronavirus Infections ,business ,furin ,hormones, hormone substitutes, and hormone antagonists - Abstract
To-date, there has not been a clear signal suggesting that asthma or treatment with inhaled steroids are a risk factor for severe COVID-19 disease. We have therefore explored ACE2 receptor mRNA expression, and co-factors for Sars-CoV-2 infectivity (TMPRSS2 and furin) in bronchial brushes and biopsies from people with asthma and healthy controls, and looked for relationships between asthma severity, Th2- and IL-17 dependent gene signatures, and clinical demographics (age, sex). We have looked at a cohort of 356 research participants from previously described studies. The only significant association was a positive correlation between ACE2 and IL-17-dependent gene expression, and an inverse correlation between ACE2 and Th2-cytokine-dependent gene expression. These data suggest that differences in ACE2, TMPRSS2 and furin epithelial and airway gene expression are unlikely to confer enhanced COVID-19 pneumonia risk in patients with asthma across all treatment intensities and severity., Expression of mRNA for ACE2, the Sars-CoV-2 receptor, is similar in the lower airways of healthy controls and people with mild-severe asthma. Altered ACE2 expression is unlikely to confer enhanced COVID-19 pneumonia risk in asthma.
- Published
- 2020
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