Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) Expression in the Aged Brain and Visual System.

of a gradient of increasing ACE2 expression from the anterior surface of the eye to the visual signal processing areas of the occipital lobe and the primary visual neocortex. A gradient of ACE2 expression from the eye surface to the occipital lobe may provide the SARS-CoV-2 virus a novel pathway from the outer eye into deeper anatomical regions of the brain involved in vision. These findings may explain, in part, the many recently reported neuro-ophthalmic manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection in COVID-19 affected patients.