Gene Expression
Nebulas
Gene Expression NebulasSummary: Various reports indicate an association between COVID-19 and anosmia, suggesting an infection of the olfactory sensory epithelium, and thus a possible direct virus access to the brain. To test this hypothesis, we generated RNA-seq libraries from human olfactory neuroepithelia, in which we found substantial expression of the genes coding for the virus receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2), and for the virus internalization enhancer TMPRSS2. We analyzed a human olfactory single-cell RNA-seq dataset and determined that sustentacular cells, which maintain the integrity of olfactory sensory neurons, express ACE2 and TMPRSS2. We then observed that the ACE2 protein was highly expressed in a subset of sustentacular cells in human and mouse olfactory tissues. Finally, we found ACE2 transcripts in specific brain cell types, both in mice and humans. Sustentacular cells thus represent a potential entry door for SARS-CoV-2 in a neuronal sensory system that is in direct connection with the brain
Overall Design: With the aim of exploring the potential expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in olfactory sensory tissue, we collected biopsies via nasal endoscopic surgery from 4 adult patients. Samples of both nasal respiratory and olfactory sensory epithelia were harvested. Bulk tissue RNA was extracted, libraries generated, and sequenced
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| Growth Protocol: | Biopsies were snap frozen in liquid nitrogen immediately upon collection. |
| Treatment Protocol: | - |
| Extract Protocol: | For RNA extraction, tissues were placed in RLT Buffer (Qiagen) with beta-mercaptoethanol and lysed with stainless steel balls (5mm diameter, Schieritz and Huenstein AG) using a homogenizer (Big Prep, MB Biomedicals). Total RNA was isolated using RNeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen) following the manufacturer protocol. The quality and quantity of total RNA were evaluated with a Bioanalyzer (Agilent). |
| Library Construction Protocol: | Stranded cDNA libraries with suitable adapters for multiplexing were generated with Truseq RNA and DNA sample preparation kits (Illumina) following ribodepletion of the total RNA (200ng of total RNA per sample). Samples were multiplexed for sequencing in a HiSeq 2500 Sequencing system, generating 100bp single-end reads. |
| Molecule Type: | rRNA- RNA |
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| Library Layout: | SINGLE |
| Library Strand: | Forward |
| Platform: | ILLUMINA |
| Instrument Model: | Illumina HiSeq 2500 |
| Strand-Specific: | Specific |
| Data Resource | GEN Sample ID | GEN Dataset ID | Project ID | BioProject ID | Sample ID | Sample Name | BioSample ID | Sample Accession | Experiment Accession | Release Date | Submission Date | Update Date | Species | Race | Ethnicity | Age | Age Unit | Gender | Source Name | Tissue | Cell Type | Cell Subtype | Cell Line | Disease | Disease State | Development Stage | Mutation | Phenotype | Case Detail | Control Detail | Growth Protocol | Treatment Protocol | Extract Protocol | Library Construction Protocol | Molecule Type | Library Layout | Strand-Specific | Library Strand | Spike-In | Strategy | Platform | Instrument Model | Cell Number | Reads Number | Gbases | AvgSpotLen1 | AvgSpotLen2 | Uniq Mapping Rate | Multiple Mapping Rate | Coverage Rate |
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