Bontempo Alexander, Chirino Alexandra, Heidari Alireza, Boparai Saurav, Arora Saher, Ruiz Sunniva, Antonson Sibel A, Kawai Toshihisa, Cayabyab Mark J
Department of Oral Science and Translational Research, Health Professions Division, College of Dental Medicine, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, NOVA Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
Eur J Oral Sci. 2023 Feb;131(1):e12906. doi: 10.1111/eos.12906. Epub 2022 Nov 22.
SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of the debilitating COVID-19, is mainly transmitted by first infecting nose and lung epithelial cells. The mouth is also believed to be a viral portal site since certain types of oral epithelial cells were shown to express ACE2 receptor. However, it is unclear whether oral epithelial cells are directly infected by SARS-CoV-2. In this study, we addressed whether epithelial cells of the oral gingiva were susceptible to infection. Interestingly, we found that KRT5+ and KRT18+ gingival epithelial cells do not express ACE2 but highly express TMPRSS2 and Furin as well as CD147, which was proposed to be an alternative receptor for SARS-CoV-2. However, using SARS-CoV-2 pseudoviruses containing the spike protein, we observed that gingival epithelial cells were not susceptible to infection due to the lack of ACE2 expression and the inability of CD147 to mediate viral entry. These results strongly suggest that epithelial cells from the gingiva are not susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 and CD147 is not a receptor for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The susceptibility of oral cells from other oral structures under healthy and pathological conditions still needs to be confirmed to better understand the role of the oral cavity in COVID-19 infection and transmission.
严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）是导致使人衰弱的新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）的病原体，主要通过首先感染鼻和肺上皮细胞进行传播。由于某些类型的口腔上皮细胞被证明表达血管紧张素转换酶2（ACE2）受体，口腔也被认为是一个病毒入口部位。然而，目前尚不清楚口腔上皮细胞是否会被SARS-CoV-2直接感染。在本研究中，我们探讨了口腔牙龈上皮细胞是否易受感染。有趣的是，我们发现角蛋白5（KRT5）阳性和角蛋白18（KRT18）阳性的牙龈上皮细胞不表达ACE2，但高表达跨膜丝氨酸蛋白酶2（TMPRSS2）、弗林蛋白酶以及CD147，后者被认为是SARS-CoV-2的一种替代受体。然而，使用含有刺突蛋白的SARS-CoV-2假病毒，我们观察到牙龈上皮细胞由于缺乏ACE2表达以及CD147无法介导病毒进入而不易受感染。这些结果强烈表明，牙龈上皮细胞不易受SARS-CoV-2感染，且CD147不是SARS-CoV-2病毒的受体。在健康和病理条件下，来自其他口腔结构的口腔细胞的易感性仍需得到证实，以便更好地了解口腔在COVID-19感染和传播中的作用。
