Expression of ACE2 is downregulated in lethal infection of aged mice. Quantitative RT-PCR using TaqMan chemistry was performed on individual lung samples from aged (A) and young (B) animals at 12, 24, 48, and 72 h p.i. The changes over aged and young mock controls, respectively, are plotted. The error bars represent standard deviations. *, P < 0.01 (analysis of variance; Bonferroni posttest compared to icUrbani).