Multi-omics Evaluation of Gastrointestinal and Other Clinical Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19

Gastroenterology

Du, Mulong; Cai, Guoshuai; Chen, Feng; Christiani, David C.; Zhang, Zhengdong; Wang, Meilin.

Introduction

Since December 2019, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has produced a worldwide panic. Except for a principal human to human transmission method by droplet and contact, there is still limited knowledge about possible alternate transmission methods to guide clinical care. Recent clinical studies have observed digestive symptoms in COVID-19 patients, possibly because of the enrichment and infection of SARS-CoV-2 in the gastrointestinal tract, mediated by virus receptor of angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE2), which suggests the potential for a fecaloral route of SARS-CoV-2 transmission 3, 4. However, there is still a large gap in the biological knowledge of COVID-19. In this study, via a bulk-to-cell strategy focusing on ACE2, we performed an integrated omics analysis at the genome, transcriptome and proteome levels in bulk tissues and single cells across species to decipher the potential routes for SARS-CoV-2 infection in depth.

Keywords

COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Treatment