Particulate matter exposure exacerbates susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection in humanized ACE2 mice
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Teng-Yu Zhu,
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Huan Qiu,
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Qi-Qi Cao,
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Zi-Lei Duan,
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Feng-Liang Liu,
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Tian-Zhang Song,
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Yang Liu,
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Ya-Qun Fang,
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Guang-Ming Wu,
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Yong-Tang Zheng,
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Wen-Jun Ding,
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Ren Lai,
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Lin Jin
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Abstract
The global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), as of 8 May 2021, has surpassed 150 700 000 infections and 3 279 000 deaths worldwide. Evidence indicates that SARS-CoV-2 RNA can be detected on particulate matter (PM), and COVID-19 cases are correlated with levels of air pollutants. However, the mechanisms of PM involvement in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 remain poorly understood. Here, we found that PM exposure increased the expression level of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) in several epithelial cells and increased the adsorption of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Instillation of PM in a hACE2 mouse model significantly increased the expression of ACE2 and Tmprss2 and viral replication in the lungs. Furthermore, PM exacerbated the pulmonary lesions caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection in the hACE2 mice. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that PM is an epidemiological factor of COVID-19, emphasizing the necessity of wearing anti-PM masks to cope with this global pandemic.
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