Expression of ACE2, the SARS-CoV-2 receptor, and TMPRSS2 in prostate epithelial cells.

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread across more than 200 countries and resulted in over 170,000 deaths. For unclear reasons, higher mortality rates from COVID-19 have been reported in men compared to women. While the SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2 and serine protease TMPRSS2 have been detected in lung and other tissues, it is not clear what sex differences may exist. We analyzed a publicly-available normal human prostate single-cell RNA sequencing dataset and found TMPRSS2 and ACE2 co-expressing cells in epithelial cells, with a higher proportion in club and hillock cells. Then we investigated datasets of lung epithelial cells and also found club cells co-expressing TMPRSS2 and ACE2 . A comparison of ACE2 expression in lung tissue between males and females showed higher expression in males and a larger proportion of ACE2 + cells in male type II pneumocytes, with preliminary evidence that type II pneumocytes of all lung epithelial cell types showed the highest expression of ACE2 . These results raise the possibility that sex differences in ACE2 expression and the presence of double-positive cells in the prostate may contribute to the observed disparities of COVID-19.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no conflict of interest exists.