Key result
Cardiac pericytes and fibroblasts highly express SARS-CoV-2 entry genes, trending higher in males.
Why the study?
The distribution of ACE2 and accessory proteases in cardiovascular tissue and their role in SARS-CoV-2 myocardial invasion are crucial to understanding viral tropism and clinical manifestations.
Meta-Analysis (n=10)
BACKGROUND: The distribution of ACE2 and accessory proteases (ANAD17 and CTSL) in cardiovascular tissue and the host cell receptor binding of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are crucial to understanding the virus's cell invasion, which may play a significant role in determining the viral tropism and its clinical manifestations. METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive analysis of the cell type-specific expression of ACE2, ADAM17, and CTSL in myocardial tissue from 10 patients using RNA sequencing. Our study included a meta-analysis of 2 heart single-cell RNA-sequencing studies with a total of 90,024 cells from 250 heart samples of 10 individuals. We used co-expression analysis to locate specific cell types that SARS-CoV-2 may invade. RESULTS: Our results revealed cell-type specific associations between male gender and the expression levels of ACE2, ADAM17, and CTSL, including pericytes and fibroblasts. AGT, CALM3, PCSK5, NRP1, and LMAN were identified as potential accessory proteases that might facilitate viral invasion. Enrichment analysis highlighted the extracellular matrix interaction pathway, adherent plaque pathway, vascular smooth muscle contraction inflammatory response, and oxidative stress as potential immune pathways involved in viral infection, providing potential molecular targets for therapeutic intervention. We also found specific high expression of IFITM3 and AGT in pericytes and differences in the IFN-II signaling pathway and PAR signaling pathway in fibroblasts from different cardiovascular comorbidities. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicated possible high-risk groups for COVID-19 and provided emerging avenues for future investigations of its pathogenesis. TRIAL REGISTRATION: (Not applicable).
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Chen et al. (2023) conducted a meta-analysis in Cardiovascular disease (n=10). Cardiovascular disease and male gender vs. Healthy controls and female gender was evaluated on Cell-type specific expression of ACE2, ADAM17, and CTSL. Single-cell RNA sequencing revealed that ACE2, ADAM17, and CTSL are highly expressed in cardiac pericytes and fibroblasts, with expression levels trending higher in male patients.
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