Integrated Single-Cell Atlases Reveal an Oral SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Transmission Axis.
Ni HuangPaola PerezTakafumi KatoYu MikamiKenichi OkudaRodney C GilmoreCecilia Domínguez CondeBillel GasmiSydney SteinMargaret BeachEileen PelayoJose MaldonadoBernard LaFontRicardo PadillaValerie MurrahRobert MaileWill LovellShannon WalletNatalie M BowmanSuzanne L MeinigMatthew C WolfgangSaibyasachi N ChoudhuryMark NovotnyBrian D AevermannRichard ScheuermannGabrielle CannonCarlton AndersonJulie MarchesanMandy BushMarcelo FreireAdam KimpleDaniel L HerrJoseph RabinAlison GrazioliBenjamin N FrenchThomas PranzatelliJohn A ChioriniDavid E KleinerStefania PittalugaStephen HewittPeter D BurbeloDaniel ChertowKaren FrankJanice LeeRichard C BoucherSarah A TeichmannBlake M WarnerKevin M ByrdPublished in: medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences (2020)
Despite signs of infection, the involvement of the oral cavity in COVID-19 is poorly understood. To address this, single-cell RNA sequencing data-sets were integrated from human minor salivary glands and gingiva to identify 11 epithelial, 7 mesenchymal, and 15 immune cell clusters. Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 viral entry factor expression showed enrichment in epithelia including the ducts and acini of the salivary glands and the suprabasal cells of the mucosae. COVID-19 autopsy tissues confirmed in vivo SARS-CoV-2 infection in the salivary glands and mucosa. Saliva from SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals harbored epithelial cells exhibiting ACE2 expression and SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Matched nasopharyngeal and saliva samples found distinct viral shedding dynamics and viral burden in saliva correlated with COVID-19 symptoms including taste loss. Upon recovery, this cohort exhibited salivary antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 proteins. Collectively, the oral cavity represents a robust site for COVID-19 infection and implicates saliva in viral transmission.
Keyphrases
- sars cov
- single cell
- respiratory syndrome coronavirus
- rna seq
- poor prognosis
- high throughput
- induced apoptosis
- endothelial cells
- stem cells
- gene expression
- bone marrow
- electronic health record
- cell cycle arrest
- dna methylation
- genome wide
- signaling pathway
- pluripotent stem cells
- physical activity
- angiotensin converting enzyme
- oxidative stress
- deep learning
- sleep quality
- cell death