ArticleAmerican journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology2020
Sex steroids skew ACE2 expression in human airway: a contributing factor to sex differences in COVID-19?
Article in American journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers.
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Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 66 citations in OpenAlex.
- Androgens are a Key Factor Affecting Immune Related Diseases.The world journal of men's health · 2026Review
- Testosterone Replacement Therapy and Risk of COVID-19 and Effect of COVID-19 on Testosterone's Treatment Effect.Journal of the Endocrine Society · 2025Article
- UBR1 Promotes Sex-Dependent ACE2 Ubiquitination in Hypertension.Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979) · 2025Article
- Kiss1 receptor knockout exacerbates airway hyperresponsiveness and remodeling in a mouse model of allergic asthma.Respiratory research · 2024Article
- NMDA Receptor Modulation in COVID-19-Associated Acute Respiratory Syndrome in both In Silico and In Vitro Approach.Applied biochemistry and biotechnology · 2024Article
- Exploring the Complexities of Long COVID.Viruses · 2024Review
- Sex hormones in COVID-19 severity: The quest for evidence and influence mechanisms.Journal of cellular and molecular medicine · 2024Review
- The interplay between Sars-Cov-2 infection related cardiovascular diseases and depression. Common mechanisms, shared symptoms.American heart journal plus : cardiology research and practice · 2024Review
- Estrogen receptors differentially modifies lamellipodial and focal adhesion dynamics in airway smooth muscle cell migration.Molecular and cellular endocrinology · 2024Article
- Sex differences in coronavirus disease 2019 myocarditis.Current opinion in physiology · 2023Article
- Kisspeptin regulates airway hyperresponsiveness and remodeling in a mouse model of asthma.The Journal of pathology · 2023Article
- Gender Differences in Response to COVID-19 Infection and Vaccination.Biomedicines · 2023Review
- Vaccination-Associated Myocarditis and Myocardial Injury.Circulation research · 2023Review
- Sex, Age, and Comorbidities Are Associated with SARS-CoV-2 Infection, COVID-19 Severity, and Fatal Outcome in a Mexican Population: A Retrospective Multi-Hospital Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Sex hormones in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility: key players or confounders?Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2023Review
- The Effect of Biologic Therapy in Severe Asthmatics and ER Admissions During COVID-19: A Retrospective Study.Journal of asthma and allergy · 2023Article
- Testosterone and Covid-19: An update.Reviews in medical virology · 2023Review
- Pregnancy-induced differential expression of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza a viral entry factors in the lower respiratory tract.PloS one · 2023Article
- Combined plasma levels of IL-10 and testosterone, but not soluble HLA-G5, predict the risk of death in COVID-19 patients.Andrology · 2023Article
- Exposure to a mixture of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances modulates pulmonary expression of ACE2 and circulating hormones and cytokines.Toxicology and applied pharmacology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The incidence, severity, and mortality of ongoing coronavirus infectious disease 19 (COVID-19) is greater in men compared with women, but the underlying factors contributing to this sex difference are still being explored. In the current study, using primary isolated human airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells from normal males versus females as a model, we explored the effect of estrogen versus testosterone in modulating the expression of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a cell entry point for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Using confocal imaging, we found that ACE2 is expressed in human ASM. Furthermore, Western analysis of ASM cell lysates showed significantly lower ACE2 expression in females compared with males at baseline. In addition, ASM cells exposed to estrogen and testosterone for 24 h showed that testosterone significantly upregulates ACE2 expression in both males and females, whereas estrogen downregulates ACE2, albeit not significant compared with vehicle. These intrinsic and sex steroids induced differences may help explain sex differences in COVID-19.
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Registered trials
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.