美国范德比尔特大学医学中心Alvin C. Powers、Marcela Brissova等研究人员合作发现，SARS-CoV-2细胞进入因子ACE2和TMPRSS2在人胰腺的微血管和导管中表达，但在β细胞中未富集。这一研究成果于2020年11月13日在线发表在国际学术期刊《细胞—代谢》上。

Title: SARS-CoV-2 Cell Entry Factors ACE2 and TMPRSS2 are Expressed in the Microvasculature and Ducts of Human Pancreas but are Not Enriched in β Cells

Author: Katie C. Coate, Jeeyeon Cha, Shristi Shrestha, Wenliang Wang, Luciana Mateus Gonalves, Joana Almaa, Meghan E. Kapp, Maria Fasolino, Ashleigh Morgan, Chunhua Dai, Diane C. Saunders, Rita Bottino, Radhika Aramandla, Regina Jenkins, Roland Stein, Klaus H. Kaestner, Golnaz Vahedi, Marcela Brissova, Alvin C. Powers

Issue&Volume: 2020-11-13

Abstract: Isolated reports of new-onset diabetes in individuals with COVID-19 have led to the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 is directly cytotoxic to pancreatic islet β cells. This would require binding and entry of SARS-CoV-2 into β cells via co-expression of its canonical cell entry factors, angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2); however, their expression in human pancreas has not been clearly defined. We analyzed six transcriptional datasets of primary human islet cells and found that ACE2 and TMPRSS2 were not co-expressed in single β cells. In pancreatic sections, ACE2 and TMPRSS2 protein was not detected in β cells from donors with and without diabetes. Instead, ACE2 protein was expressed in islet and exocrine tissue microvasculature and in a subset of pancreatic ducts, whereas TMPRSS2 protein was restricted to ductal cells. These findings reduce the likelihood that SARS-CoV-2 directly infects β cells in vivo through ACE2 and TMPRSS2.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2020.11.006

Source: https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(20)30601-X