Non-neural expression of SARS-CoV-2 entry genes in the olfactory epithelium suggests mechanisms underlying anosmia in COVID-19 patients

David Brann; Tatsuya Tsukahara; Caleb Weinreb; Darren W. Logan; Sandeep Robert Datta

The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not peer-reviewed) is the . https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.25.009084 doi: bioRxiv preprint has higher expression of CoV-2 entry genes than RE of the trachea or lungs (36) , and we therefore asked where OE fell within this previously established spectrum of expression. To address this question, we developed a two step alignment procedure in which we first sought to identify cell types that were common across the OE and RE, and then leveraged gene expression patterns in these common cell types to normalize gene expression levels across all cell types in the OE and RE ( Figure S4 ). This approach revealed a correspondences between goblet cells in the RE and Bowman's gland cells in the OE (96% mapping probability, see Methods), and between pulmonary ionocytes in the RE and a subset of microvillar cells in the OE (99% mapping probability, see Methods); after alignment, human OE sustentacular cells were found to express ACE2 and TMPRSS2 at levels similar to that observed in the remainder of the non-nasal respiratory tract ( Figure 3G ) (36) .