Integrative Bioinformatics Analysis Provides Insight into the Molecular Mechanisms of 2019-nCoV

Xiang He; Lei Zhang; Qin Ran; Anying Xiong; Junyi Wang; Dehong Wu; Feng Chen; Guoping Li

In early December 2019, several cases of pneumonia with unknown causes were reported in Wuhan, Hubei, China (1) . Later, a novel coronavirus, 2019-nCoV was identified based on sequencing of the patient respiratory tract samples. As of February 1, 2020, more than 10,000 confirmed patients and more than 15,000 suspected cases were reported in China, with additional patients being identified in a rapidly growing number internationally. Analyzing of the genome of 2019-nCoV showed that this new virus shared around 80~90% sequence identity to SARS-CoV (2) . Both bioinformatics modeling and in vitro experiments indicated that 2019-nCoV was more likely to use the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as the entry receptor (3, 4) . ACE2 is previously known as the receptor for SARS-CoV and HCoV-NL63 (5, 6) . Considering the sequence of 2019-nCoV is similar to the SRAS-CoV and they are reported to share the same molecular as the entry point, analyses of ACE2 expression and distribution in lung and related biological processes may help us understand the pathogenesis and design therapeutic strategies for 2019-nCoV. Recent advances in bioinformatics enable researchers to reveal the underlying mechanisms of various diseases. In this study, we used bioinformatics approaches to identify the ACE2 expression features in lung and mine associated regulating networks. These results may help us understand the pathogenesis and design therapeutic strategies for 2019-nCoV.