Identifying Pathways and Networks Associated With the SARS-CoV-2 Cell Receptor ACE2 Based on Gene Expression Profiles in Normal and SARS-CoV-2-Infected Human Tissues

Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences
Qiushi FengXiaosheng Wang

Abstract

Because ACE2 is a host cell receptor of the SARS-CoV-2, an investigation of ACE2 expression in normal and virus-infected human tissues is crucial for understanding the mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection. We identified pathways associated with ACE2 expression and gene co-expression networks of ACE2 in pan-tissue based on the gene expression profiles in normal human tissues. We found that the pathways significantly associated with ACE2 upregulation were mainly involved in immune, stromal signature, metabolism, cell growth and proliferation, and cancer and other diseases. The number of genes having a significant positive expression correlation with ACE2 in females far exceeded that in males. The estrogen receptors (ESR1 and ESR2) and androgen receptor (AR) genes had a significant positive expression correlation with ACE2. Meanwhile, the enrichment levels of immune cells were positively associated with the expression levels of ESR1 and ESR2, while they were inversely associated with the expression levels of AR in pan-tissue and multiple individual tissues. It suggests that females are likely to have a more robust immune defense system against SARS-CoV-2 than males. ACE2 was upregulated in SARS-CoV-2-infected tissues relative to norm...Continue Reading

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Citations

Jan 19, 2021·Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy = Biomédecine & Pharmacothérapie·Murat Oz, Dietrich Ernst Lorke
Jul 3, 2021·International Journal of Molecular Sciences·Nikita AbramenkoKarel Smetana
Jul 1, 2021·FASEB Journal : Official Publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology·María-Salud García-AyllónJavier Sáez-Valero
Sep 3, 2021·Scientific Reports·Giovanni LavorgnaAndrea Salonia
Oct 5, 2021·Genome Génome / Conseil National De Recherches Canada·Ayse Gokce KeskusOzlen Konu

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
RNA-Seq

Software Mentioned

WGCNA
DESeq2
R package “ WGCNA ”
GSEA
Cytoscape

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