title: Epithelial cells lining salivary gland ducts are early target cells of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection in the upper respiratory tracts of rhesus macaques.
abstract: The shedding of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) into saliva droplets plays a critical role in viral transmission. The source of high viral loads in saliva, however, remains elusive. Here we investigate the early target cells of infection in the entire array of respiratory tissues in Chinese macaques after intranasal inoculations with a single-cycle pseudotyped virus and a pathogenic SARS-CoV. We found that angiotensin-converting enzyme 2-positive (ACE2(+)) cells were widely distributed in the upper respiratory tract, and ACE2(+) epithelial cells lining salivary gland ducts were the early target cells productively infected. Our findings also have implications for SARS-CoV early diagnosis and prevention.
authors.affiliation: AIDS Institute, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: Haibo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yanhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Jingying
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Pokman
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: Linqi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lackner
authors.forename: Chuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Zhiwei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000085962:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2; D000818:Animals; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000821:virology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008853:Microscopy; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / Q000032:analysis; D011991:Receptors, Virus / Q000032:analysis; D045473:Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D018987:Salivary Ducts / Q000821:virology*; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology*; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D011991:Receptors, Virus; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A; D000085962:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2