ArticleInfectious diseases of poverty2020
Expression of the SARS-CoV-2 cell receptor gene ACE2 in a wide variety of human tissues.
Article in Infectious diseases of poverty, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 916 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
916 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,631 citations in OpenAlex.
- Hypophysitis in COVID-19: a systematic review.Pituitary · 2024Pooled it
- Pediatric endocrinopathies related to COVID-19: an update.World journal of pediatrics : WJP · 2023Pooled it
- Prevalence and risk factors of erectile dysfunction in COVID-19 patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2023Pooled it
- Post-COVID-19 Thyroid Function Changes in Primary Care: A Retrospective Observational Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- ACE2 and Parkinsonism‑related bone metabolic alterations: signaling pathways and hub gene analysis.Molecular genetics and genomics : MGG · 2026Article
- Review
- β-Cell Dysfunction in COVID-19 and Post-COVID Syndrome: Molecular Mechanisms Linking Inflammation, Oxidative Stress, and Insulin Secretion.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Research progress on the association between viruses and cardiac diseases.Journal of virology · 2026Review
- Skin as a Potential Entry Point for SARS-CoV-2 Virus.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Exploring Spike-Dependent and ACE2-Independent SARS-CoV-2 Interactions with Salivary Epithelial Cells in the Absence of ACE2.Biology · 2026Article
- An infection and pathogenesis mouse model of SARS-CoV-2-related pangolin coronavirus GX_P2V(short_3UTR).mLife · 2026Article
- The Effect of COVID-19 on Voice Quality: A Systematic Review.World journal of otorhinolaryngology - head and neck surgery · 2026Review
- Reverse Takotsubo Syndrome Triggered by COVID-19-Associated Cytokine Storm: Unveiling a Novel Pattern of Myocardial Dysfunction in SARS-CoV-2 Infection.The American journal of case reports · 2026Article
- Long-Term Thyroid Complications Post-COVID-19: A Systematic Review.Microorganisms · 2026Review
- In Silico Ligand-Based Screening of PDB Database for Searching Unique Motifs Against SARS-CoV-2.Biomolecules · 2026Article
- Oral microbiota composition in children and adults during Spanish COVID-19 lockdown: impact of home self-confinement and SARS-CoV-2 infection.Journal of oral microbiology · 2026Article
- Sex and age are associated with host immune responses and multi-organ dysfunction in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Biological Plausibility Between Long-COVID and Periodontal Disease Development or Progression.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Expression ofBiomedical reports · 2025Article
- Subacute thyroiditis after COVID-19 - Clinical, laboratory and ultrasound aspects.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2025Article
856 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSince its discovery in December 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected more than 2 180 000 people worldwide and has caused more than 150 000 deaths as of April 16, 2020. SARS-CoV-2, which is the virus causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), uses the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as a cell receptor to invade human cells. Thus, ACE2 is the key to understanding the mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study is to investigate the ACE2 expression in various human tissues in order to provide insights into the mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
methodsWe compared ACE2 expression levels across 31 normal human tissues between males and females and between younger (ages ≤ 49 years) and older (ages > 49 years) persons using two-sided Student's t test. We also investigated the correlations between ACE2 expression and immune signatures in various tissues using Pearson's correlation test.
resultsACE2 expression levels were the highest in the small intestine, testis, kidneys, heart, thyroid, and adipose tissue, and were the lowest in the blood, spleen, bone marrow, brain, blood vessels, and muscle. ACE2 showed medium expression levels in the lungs, colon, liver, bladder, and adrenal gland. ACE2 was not differentially expressed between males and females or between younger and older persons in any tissue. In the skin, digestive system, brain, and blood vessels, ACE2 expression levels were positively associated with immune signatures in both males and females. In the thyroid and lungs, ACE2 expression levels were positively and negatively associated with immune signatures in males and females, respectively, and in the lungs they had a positive and a negative correlation in the older and younger groups, respectively.
conclusionsOur data indicate that SARS-CoV-2 may infect other tissues aside from the lungs and infect persons with different sexes, ages, and races equally. The different host immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection may partially explain why males and females, young and old persons infected with this virus have markedly distinct disease severity. This study provides new insights into the role of ACE2 in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
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