SARS-CoV-2 Cell Entry Factors ACE2 and TMPRSS2 Are Expressed in the Microvasculature and Ducts of Human Pancreas but Are Not Enriched in β Cells

Coate, Katie C.; Cha, Jeeyeon; Shrestha, Shristi; Wang, Wenliang; Gonçalves, Luciana Mateus; Almaça, Joana; Kapp, Meghan E.; Fasolino, Maria; Morgan, Ashleigh; Dai, Chunhua; Saunders, Diane C.; Bottino, Rita; Aramandla, Radhika; Jenkins, Regina; Stein, Roland; Kaestner, Klaus H.; Vahedi, Golnaz; Brissova, Marcela; Powers, Alvin C.

Isolated reports of new-onset diabetes in individuals with COVID-19 have led to the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 is directly cytotoxic to pancreatic islet β cells. This would require binding and entry of SARS-CoV-2 into β cells via co-expression of its canonical cell entry factors, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2); however, their expression in human pancreas has not been clearly defined. We analyzed six transcriptional datasets of primary human islet cells and found that ACE2 and TMPRSS2 were not co-expressed in single β cells. In pancreatic sections, ACE2 and TMPRSS2 protein was not detected in β cells from donors with and without diabetes. Instead, ACE2 protein was expressed in islet and exocrine tissue microvasculature and in a subset of pancreatic ducts, whereas TMPRSS2 protein was restricted to ductal cells. These findings reduce the likelihood that SARS-CoV-2 directly infects β cells in vivo through ACE2 and TMPRSS2.