PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Santtu Heinonen
AU  - Otto Helve
AU  - Sture Andersson
AU  - Cecilia Janér
AU  - Liina Süvari
AU  - Anu Kaskinen
TI  - Nasal expression of SARS-CoV-2 entry receptors in newborns
AID  - 10.1136/archdischild-2020-321334
DP  - 2022 Jan 01
TA  - Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition
PG  - 95--97
VI  - 107
IP  - 1
4099  - http://fn.bmj.com/content/107/1/95.short
4100  - http://fn.bmj.com/content/107/1/95.full
SO  - Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed2022 Jan 01; 107
AB  - Background SARS-CoV-2 infection is typically mild in children. Lower expression of SARS-CoV-2 entry receptors in the nasal epithelia have been described in children compared with adults. However, data from newborns are lacking. We compared nasal expression of four SARS-CoV-2 entry receptors between term and preterm newborns and adults.Methods Nasal scrape samples were obtained from 28 newborns (17 term and 11 preterm) and 10 adults. Reverse-transcription quantitative PCR was used to measure mRNA expression of ACE2, transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2), neuropilin 1 (NRP1) and neuropilin 2 (NRP2) and insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R).Results Expression levels of ACE2, TMPRSS2, NRP1 and NRP2 were lower in term and preterm newborns and IGF1R lower in term newborns compared with adults (p<0.05).Conclusions Both term and preterm newborns, compared with adults, have lower expression of SARS-CoV-2 entry receptors in nasal epithelium.Data are available on reasonable request. Data collected for this study may be shared with other investigators after approval of methodologically sound proposal. Proposals should be directed to corresponding author. To gain access, data requestors will need to sign a data access agreement.