Airway expression of SARS-CoV-2 receptor, ACE2, and proteases, TMPRSS2 and furin, in severe asthma

2020-07-03 respiratory medicine Title + abstract only

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BackgroundPatients with severe asthma may have a greater risk of dying from COVID-19 disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus. Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor and enzyme proteases, transmembrane protease, serine 2 (TMPRSS2) and furin are needed for the attachment and invasion of the virus into host cells. We determined whether their expression in the airways of severe asthma patients is increased. MethodWe examined the microarray mRNA expression of ACE2, TMPRSS2 and furin in the sputu...