Female reproductive tract has low concentration of SARS-CoV2 receptors.

PLoS One

Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America.

Published: February 2021

There has been significant concern regarding fertility and reproductive outcomes during the SARS-CoV2 pandemic. Recent data suggests a high concentration of SARS-Cov2 receptors, ACE2 or TMPRSS2, in nasal epithelium and cornea, which explains person-to-person transmission. We investigated the prevalence of SARS-CoV2 receptors among reproductive tissues by exploring the single-cell sequencing datasets from uterus, myometrium, ovary, fallopian tube, and breast epithelium. We did not detect significant expression of either ACE2 or TMPRSS2 in the normal human myometrium, uterus, ovaries, fallopian tube, or breast. Furthermore, none of the cell types in the female reproductive organs we investigated, showed the co-expression of ACE2 with proteases, TMPRSS2, Cathepsin B (CTSB), and Cathepsin L (CTSL) known to facilitate the entry of SARS2-CoV2 into the host cell. These results suggest that myometrium, uterus, ovaries, fallopian tube, and breast are unlikely to be susceptible to infection by SARS-CoV2.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7735593PMC
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0243959PLOS

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  • SARS-CoV-2 can infect liver cells (hepatocytes), leading to elevated liver enzymes and more severe disease in those with pre-existing liver conditions.
  • The study shows that the virus replicates and spreads in hepatocytes, with infection being dependent on two specific proteins, ACE2 and TMPRSS2, which are found on the liver cells.
  • Infection causes rapid liver cell death, with the Omicron variant causing quicker but less extensive damage compared to other strains, as seen in both human liver cells and infected mice.
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