Lung epithelial stem cells express SARS-CoV-2 entry factors: implications for COVID-19
Valyaeva, A. A.; Zharikova, A. A.; Kasianov, A. S.; Vassetzky, Y. S.; Sheval, E. V.
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SARS-CoV-2 can infiltrate the lower respiratory tract, resulting in severe respiratory failure and a high death rate. Normally, the airway and alveolar epithelium can be rapidly reconstituted by multipotent stem cells after episodes of infection. Here, we analyzed published RNA-seq datasets and demonstrated that cells of four different lung epithelial stem cell types express SARS-CoV-2 entry factors, including Ace2. Thus, stem cells can be potentially infected by SARS-CoV-2, which may lead to defects in regeneration capacity partially accounting for the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection and its consequences.
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