Nasal Gene Expression of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 in Children and Adults
Supinda Bunyavanich, MD, MPH1; Anh Do, PhD2; Alfin Vicencio, MD1
Author Affiliations Article Information
JAMA. Published online May 20, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.8707
Children account for less than 2% of identified cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).1,2 It is hypothesized that the lower risk among children is due to differential expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2),3 the receptor that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) uses for host entry.4 We investigated ACE2 gene expression in the nasal epithelium of children and adults.
Methods
We conducted a retrospective examination of nasal epithelium from individuals aged 4 to 60 years encountered within the Mount Sinai Health System, New York, New York, during 2015-2018. Samples were collected from individuals with and without asthma for research on nasal biomarkers of asthma. The study was approved by the Mount Sinai institutional review board. Written informed consent was obtained from participants (or their parents for minors). Nasal epithelium was collected using a cytology brush that was immediately placed in RNA stabilization fluid and stored at −80 °C. RNA was isolated within 6 months. RNA samples were checked for quality and sequenced as a single batch in 2018. Sequence data processing included sequence alignment and normalization of gene expression counts across genes and samples.
