Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32662421›Full record

ArticleeLife2020

Does the human placenta express the canonical cell entry mediators for SARS-CoV-2?

Roger Pique-Regi, Roberto Romero, Adi L Tarca, Francesca Luca, Yi Xu, Adnan Alazizi, Yaozhu Leng, Chaur-Dong Hsu, Nardhy Gomez-Lopez

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in eLife, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 164 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
164citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
23.6field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

164 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 273 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  8. COVID-19 and Pregnancy: Key Findings.Scandinavian journal of immunology · 2026
    Review
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Application of single-cell RNA sequencing in preeclampsia.Frontiers in global women's health · 2026
    Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
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104 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Roger Pique-RegiPerinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, <italic>Eunice Kennedy Shriver</italic> National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Detroit, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-1262-2275
Roberto RomeroPerinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, <italic>Eunice Kennedy Shriver</italic> National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Detroit, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-4448-5121
Adi L TarcaPerinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, <italic>Eunice Kennedy Shriver</italic> National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Detroit, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-1712-7588
Francesca LucaCenter for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-8252-9052
Yi XuPerinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, <italic>Eunice Kennedy Shriver</italic> National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Detroit, United States.
Adnan AlaziziCenter for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, United States.
Yaozhu LengPerinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, <italic>Eunice Kennedy Shriver</italic> National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Detroit, United States.
Chaur-Dong HsuPerinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, <italic>Eunice Kennedy Shriver</italic> National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Detroit, United States.
Nardhy Gomez-LopezPerinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, <italic>Eunice Kennedy Shriver</italic> National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Detroit, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-3406-5262
National Institutes of Health · USWayne State University · US

Funding

The Role Of Subclinical Infection And Cytokines In Preterm ParturitionZIAHD002400 · NICHD · EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT · PI ROMERO, ROBERTO · 2009 to 2025
$254.4M
NICHD NIH HHS HHSN275201300006CNIH HHS HHSN275201300006C
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has affected more than 10 million people, including pregnant women. To date, no consistent evidence for the vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 exists. The novel coronavirus canonically utilizes the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor and the serine protease TMPRSS2 for cell entry. Herein, building upon our previous single-cell study (Pique-Regi et al., 2019), another study, and new single-cell/nuclei RNA-sequencing data, we investigated the expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 throughout pregnancy in the placenta as well as in third-trimester chorioamniotic membranes. We report that co-transcription of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 is negligible in the placenta, thus not a likely path of vertical transmission for SARS-CoV-2. By contrast, receptors for Zika virus and cytomegalovirus, which cause congenital infections, are highly expressed by placental cell types. These data show that the placenta minimally expresses the canonical cell-entry mediators for SARS-CoV-2.

Indexed as

Virus InternalizationAngiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2BetacoronavirusCoronavirus InfectionsCOVID-19FemaleHumansPandemicsPeptidyl-Dipeptidase APlacentaPneumonia, ViralPregnancyReceptors, VirusSARS-CoV-2Serine EndopeptidasesZika VirusACE2 protein, humanAngiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2Peptidyl-Dipeptidase AReceptors, VirusSerine EndopeptidasesTMPRSS2 protein, humanCOVID-19geneticsgenomicshumanhuman biologymedicineplacentapregnancy vertical transmisssionSARS-CoV-2scRNA-seqviral receptors

Identifiers

PMID32662421
PMCPMC7367681
OpenAlexW3042513471

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.