Fig. 1.
ACE2 expresses in human neurons, therefore COVID-19 virus could invade the CNS, causing neurological symptoms and respiratory failure. (a) ACE2 expresses in cultured human pluripotent stem cell (PSC)-derived mixed neurons. A1: A bright field image of cultured human PSC-derived neurons (STEMCELL, 70905, Canada). The scale bar represents 20 μm. A2–3: Immunofluorescent labeling for visualization of ACE2 (red) in cultured human PSC-derived neurons (blue: DAPI). The scale bars represent 20 μm in (A2) and 10 μm in (A3), respectively. The specimens were incubated with rabbit anti-mouse ACE2 antibody (1:100 dilution; Aviva System Biology, OASG00144, CA, USA) overnight at 4 ºC. (b) A schematic of how neuronal ACE2 could contribute to coronavirus-related respiratory diseases