SARS-CoV-2 Targets by the PscRNA Profiling of ACE2, TMPRSS2 and Furin Proteases

Overview

Journal iScience

Publisher Cell Press

Date 2020 Nov 2

PMID 33134888

Citations 55

Authors

Lulin Zhou

Zubiao Niu

Xiaoyi Jiang

Zhengrong Zhang

You Zheng

Zhongyi Wang

Yichao Zhu

Lihua Gao

Hongyan Huang

Xiaoning Wang

Qiang Sun

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The cellular targets of SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic, is still rudimentary. Here, we incorporated the protein information to analyze the expression of ACE2, the SARS-CoV-2 receptor, together with co-factors, TMPRSS2 and Furin, at single-cell level , which we called protein-proofed single-cell RNA (pscRNA) profiling. Systemic analysis across 36 tissues revealed a rank list of candidate cells potentially vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2. The top targets are lung AT2 cells and macrophages, then cardiomyocytes and adrenal gland stromal cells, followed by stromal cells in testis, ovary, and thyroid, whereas the kidney proximal tubule cells, cholangiocytes, and enterocytes are less likely to be the primary SARS-CoV-2 targets. Actually, the stomach may constitute a physical barrier against SARS-CoV-2 as the acidic environment (pH < 2.0) could completely inactivate SARS-CoV-2 pseudo-viruses. Together, we provide a comprehensive view on the potential SARS-CoV-2 targets by pscRNA profiling.

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