As shown in Figure ?Figure33H, most taste bud cells from distinct types ((Figure ?Figure33H)

As shown in Figure ?Figure33H, most taste bud cells from distinct types ((Figure ?Figure33H). sets of adult mouse tongue epithelial cells showed that receptors for various viruses were enriched in distinct clusters of tongue epithelial cells. was enriched in a subpopulation of epithelial cells in the basal region of nongustatory filiform papillae but not in the taste papillae or taste buds. Expression of was detected in a small proportion of type III taste cells. Our results indicate that when applied across species, nongustatory papilla epithelial cells are the prime targets for SARS-CoV-2 infection in the tongue; thus, taste loss in COVID-19 patients is likely not caused by a direct infection of SARS-CoV-2 to taste bud cells. Additionally, fetuses at different stages of development may have distinct susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection. is detected in both gustatory and nongustatory tongue epithelium.25 Quantitative data from cellular analyses are currently unavailable. In spite of the valuable knowledge gained recently about ACE2 and COVID-19 infections, several relevant questions remain unanswered: (1) Where are expression more enriched in taste bud cells such that viral infection directly causes taste bud cell death and subsequently taste loss? (3) How does expression in oral epithelium change during different stages of embryonic development? Although mouse ACE2 is not susceptible to SARS-CoV-2,26 its expression may still provide insights into the development of pathological changes in humans given that mice and humans share similar gene expression patterns. In this study, analyses of available RNA-Seq data from our lab and SU14813 maleate recent publications27,28 indicate that expression was detected in the oral epithelium at birth and not in embryos at E12.5 and E14.5. In adult mice, is enriched in a subpopulation of epithelial cells in the nongustatory filiform papillae but not in taste papillae or taste buds. Our mouse data, together with other reports, if true in humans, suggest that (1) taste loss in COVID-19 patients is likely not directly caused by the transfection of SARS-CoV-2 to taste bud cells, (2) embryos at different stages of development have distinct susceptibility to the disease, and (3) the risk of a maternalCfetal transmission exists given the expression of in the organs of late embryos and newborns, placenta, and the female reproductive system. Results Expression Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2, Influenza Virus, and Inflammation-Associated Genes in Mouse Oral Cavity at Early Stages (E12.5, E14.5, and P1) To predict how early oral tissues can SU14813 maleate be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus, we retrieved our bulk RNA-Seq data regarding the expression of genes associated with SARS-CoV-2 (and and which was decreased at later development stages. Among the examined genes, was exclusively found in the epithelium, while all other genes were detected in both the epithelium and the mesenchyme. The expression of was rarely detected in any of the four tissue compartments in embryos (E12.5 and E14.5); however, robust expression of transcripts was found in the epithelium at P1 but not the mesenchyme of the soft palate Mouse monoclonal to CD4.CD4 is a co-receptor involved in immune response (co-receptor activity in binding to MHC class II molecules) and HIV infection (CD4 is primary receptor for HIV-1 surface glycoprotein gp120). CD4 regulates T-cell activation, T/B-cell adhesion, T-cell diferentiation, T-cell selection and signal transduction and tongue (Figure ?Figure11A). Expression of the protease were the most abundant in the soft palate epithelium (Figure ?Figure11B). and decreased abundance of transcripts (Figure ?Figure11C,D). and = 3) to illustrate the expression of genes related to SARS-CoV-2 (A and B), influenza (C and D), and inflammation (E and F). The epithelium (Epi) and mesenchyme (Mes) were separately collected from E12.5, E14.5, and P1 mouse tongue (T) and soft palate (SP), the two main regions SU14813 maleate that host taste buds. Dots in each histogram represent the individual data points of the biological replicates. Statistical analysis of differential expression in the same tissue compartment across stages was performed based on read counts using DESeq2. *, 0.05; **, 0.01 (adjusted P value). Enrichment of SARS-CoV-2 Receptor Gene Occurs in a Subpopulation of Tongue Epithelial Cells of Nongustatory Papillae but Not in Taste Papillae or Buds Recent studies indicated that is enriched in the tongue epithelial cells in humans.23 To understand which subpopulation(s) of tongue epithelial cells will be the likely focus on of SARS-CoV-2, we scoured the info SU14813 maleate within the posted mouse scRNA-seq atlas recently.27 Utilizing the best high-throughput data place (7538 cells altogether), we identified 13 anterior tongue epithelial cell clusters (Amount ?Amount22A) and their associated personal genes (Amount ?Figure22B, Desk S1) utilizing a machine learning strategy. Consistent with individual data,23 SARS-CoV-2 entrance receptor coding gene, is normally broadly dispersed at a minimal regularity across all cell clusters (Amount ?Figure22D). Open up in another window.