THE RELATION OF ACE2 AND TMPRSS2 NASOPHARYNGEAL EXPRESSION WITH DISEASE SEVERITY IN VIETNAMESE COVID-19 PATIENTS

Abstract

Introduction: ACE2 and TMPRSS2 are two crucial proteins of host cell membrane helping SARSCoV-2 viral infection to cause COVID-19 disease. ACE2 is a receptor for binding of the viral spike (S) protein and TMPRSS2 following cleaves the S protein at the S1/S2 and S'2 sites for membrane fusion.Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the expression of nasopharyngeal ACE2 and TMPRSS2 upon admission in relationship with the subsequent clinical course during hospitalization of COVID-19 patients.Material and methods: Representative 29 and 23 nasopharyngeal fluid samples collected upon admission from typical severe and mild COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases (Vietnam), respectively, were relatively compared RNA expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 by using Realtime-PCR with specific primers. SARS-CoV-2 cases were diagnosed clinically,blood and biochemical parameter, X-ray/CT and confirmed by RT-PCR.Results: The RNA expression of TMPRSS2 was relative higher (1.36 fold) in severe group in comparison with mild patients (p = 0.0004), but the level of ACE2 expression was no difference between two groups.Conclusion: TMPRSS2 but not ACE2 gene expression in the nasopharyngeal mucosa may promote the severity of COVID-19 patients but requires further study in larger samples.