Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32824830›Full record

ArticleBiology2020

ACE2 Protein Landscape in the Head and Neck Region: The Conundrum of SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Géraldine Descamps, Laurine Verset, Anne Trelcat, Claire Hopkins, Jérome R Lechien, Fabrice Journe, Sven Saussez

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Biology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
25citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 11% 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

25 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 62 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. The Effect of COVID-19 on Voice Quality: A Systematic Review.World journal of otorhinolaryngology - head and neck surgery · 2026
    Review
  4. ACE2: Friend or Foe in Post-COVID-19 Neurodegeneration?International journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Persistent Dysphonia in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients.Journal of voice : official journal of the Voice Foundation · 2023
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Mouthrinses against SARS-CoV-2: anti-inflammatory effectivity and a clinical pilot study.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2021
    Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Molecular Communication Theoretical Modeling and Analysis of SARS-CoV2 Transmission in Human Respiratory System.IEEE transactions on molecular, biological, and multi-scale communications · 2021
    Article
  19. Review
  20. Article
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

7 authors at 3 institutions in 4 countries.

Géraldine DescampsDepartment of Human Anatomy and Experimental Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, UMONS Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons (UMONS), Avenue du Champ de Mars 6, 7000 Mons, Belgium.
Laurine VersetDepartment of Pathology, Institute Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Rue Héger-Bordet 1, 1000 Brussels, Belgium.
Anne TrelcatDepartment of Human Anatomy and Experimental Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, UMONS Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons (UMONS), Avenue du Champ de Mars 6, 7000 Mons, Belgium.
Claire HopkinsGuy's and St Thomas' Hospitals, Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 9RT, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-3993-1569
Jérome R LechienDepartment of Human Anatomy and Experimental Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, UMONS Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons (UMONS), Avenue du Champ de Mars 6, 7000 Mons, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0002-0845-0845
Fabrice JourneDepartment of Human Anatomy and Experimental Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, UMONS Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons (UMONS), Avenue du Champ de Mars 6, 7000 Mons, Belgium.
Sven SaussezDepartment of Human Anatomy and Experimental Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, UMONS Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons (UMONS), Avenue du Champ de Mars 6, 7000 Mons, Belgium.
University of Mons · BEThe Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn · GBUniversité Libre de Bruxelles · BE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic raging worldwide since December 2019 is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which invades human cells via the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor. Although it has already been identified in many organs, ACE2 expression remains largely unknown in the head and neck (HN) sphere. Thus, this study aims to investigate its protein expression in several sites of the upper aerodigestive tract in order to highlight potential routes of infection. We compared ACE2 immunohistochemical expression between 70 paraffin-embedded specimens with two different antibodies and reported the quantified expression in each histological location. Surprisingly, we obtained different results depending on the antibody, an absence of labeling having been observed with a monoclonal antibody raised against the extracellular domain, whereas the polyclonal, against the cytoplasmic part of the protein, revealed enriched ACE2 expression, particularly in sinuses, vocal cords, salivary glands and oral cavity epithelial cells. The interpretation of these discordant results has brought several exciting lines of reflection. In conclusion, this study provides possible routes of entry for the SARS-CoV-2 in HN region and, above all, has led us to encourage caution when studying the ACE2 expression which is currently at the center of all attention.

Indexed as

ACE2head and neckimmunohistochemistryproteinSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID32824830
PMCPMC7465650
OpenAlexW3048973985

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.