Brief communication: Immunohistochemical detection of ACE2 in human salivary gland

Yu Usami; Katsutoshi Hirose; Masashi Okumura; Satoru Toyosawa; Takayoshi Sakai

doi:10.1002/osi2.1085

Brief communication: Immunohistochemical detection of ACE2 in human salivary gland

Oral Sci Int. 2021 May;18(2):101-104. doi: 10.1002/osi2.1085. Epub 2020 Sep 28.

Authors

Yu Usami¹, Katsutoshi Hirose¹, Masashi Okumura^{1

2}, Satoru Toyosawa¹, Takayoshi Sakai³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Oral Pathology Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry Osaka Japan.
² Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 2 Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry Osaka Japan.
³ Department of Oral-Facial Disorders Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry Osaka Japan.

Abstract

The novel, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was firstly reported in late December of 2019 and subsequently caused a global outbreak. It has been shown that SARS-CoV-2 uses ACE2 (Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2) as a cellular receptor for host cell entry through the surface unit of SARS-CoV spike glycoprotein. In this brief report, we analyze ACE2 protein expression and localization in human salivary gland, and propose a possible role of saliva in the pathogenesis of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Keywords: COVID‐19; SARS‐CoV‐2; aspiration pneumonia; salivary gland.