ArticleThe ocular surface2021
Co-expression of SARS-CoV-2 entry genes in the superficial adult human conjunctival, limbal and corneal epithelium suggests an additional route of entry via the ocular surface.
Article in The ocular surface, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 91 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
91 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 150 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ophthalmology-focused publications and findings on COVID-19: A systematic review.European journal of ophthalmology · 2021Pooled it
- Ocular manifestations in COVID-19 patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Travel medicine and infectious diseasePooled it
- Impact of COVID-19 on corneal endothelial density and morphology: a cross-sectional study in convalescent patients.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Functional crosstalk between the lung and eye: a new frontier in chronic lung diseases.Archives of toxicology · 2025Review
- Insight into the shared pathogenic link between COVID-19 and pterygium: a systematic bioinformatics analysis with experimental validation.Hereditas · 2025Article
- Article
- The influence of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein exposure on retinal development in the human retinal organoids.Cell & bioscience · 2025Article
- Impact of COVID-19 on Ocular Surface Health: Infection Mechanisms, Immune Modulation, and Inflammatory Responses.Viruses · 2025Review
- Clinical characteristics and viral colonization of corneal donors with coronavirus disease 2019: a comprehensive analysis before and after corneal transplantation.Annals of medicine · 2024Article
- Review
- Effect of carbon black and silicon dioxide nanoparticle exposure on corona receptor ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression in the ocular surface.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Could Ocular Glands Be Infected by SARS-CoV-2?Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Mapping ACE2 and TMPRSS2 co-expression in human brain tissue: implications for SARS-CoV-2 neurological manifestations.Journal of neurovirology · 2024Article
- Ocular A-to-I RNA editing signatures associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection.BMC genomics · 2024Article
- SARS-CoV-2 infects cells lining the blood-retinal barrier and induces a hyperinflammatory immune response in the retina via systemic exposure.PLoS pathogens · 2024Article
- Isolated Depo-Medrol Administration under Tenon's Capsule for Post-COVID-19 Uveitis in a Child: A Case Report and Literature Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Detection of infectious SARS-CoV-2 in ocular samples is linked to viral load in the nasopharynx.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2024Article
- Expression of key SARS-CoV-2 entry molecules in surgically obtained human retinal biopsies.International ophthalmology · 2023Article
- Single-cell transcriptomics of the ocular anterior segment: a comprehensive review.Eye (London, England) · 2023Review
- Bilateral interstitial keratitis following COVID-19: a case report.BMC ophthalmology · 2023Article
31 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
14 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
purposeThe high infection rate of SARS-CoV-2 necessitates the need for multiple studies identifying the molecular mechanisms that facilitate the viral entry and propagation. Currently the potential extra-respiratory transmission routes of SARS-CoV-2 remain unclear.
methodsUsing single-cell RNA Seq and ATAC-Seq datasets and immunohistochemical analysis, we investigated SARS-CoV-2 tropism in the embryonic, fetal and adult human ocular surface.
resultsThe co-expression of ACE2 receptor and entry protease TMPRSS2 was detected in the human adult conjunctival, limbal and corneal epithelium, but not in the embryonic and fetal ocular surface up to 21 post conception weeks. These expression patterns were corroborated by the single cell ATAC-Seq data, which revealed a permissive chromatin in ACE2 and TMPRSS2 loci in the adult conjunctival, limbal and corneal epithelium. Co-expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 was strongly detected in the superficial limbal, corneal and conjunctival epithelium, implicating these as target entry cells for SARS-CoV-2 in the ocular surface. Strikingly, we also identified the key pro-inflammatory signals TNF, NFKβ and IFNG as upstream regulators of the transcriptional profile of ACE2
conclusionsTogether our data indicate that the human ocular surface epithelium provides an additional entry portal for SARS-CoV-2, which may exploit inflammatory driven upregulation of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 entry factors to enhance infection.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.