Evidence suggests an association between severe acute respiratory syndrome–cornavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and the occurrence of new-onset diabetes. We examined pancreatic expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2), the cell entry factors for SARS-CoV-2, using publicly available single-cell RNA sequencing data sets, and pancreatic tissue from control male and female nonhuman primates (NHPs) and humans. We also examined SARS-CoV-2 immunolocalization in pancreatic cells of SARS-CoV-2–infected NHPs and patients who had died from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We report expression of ACE2 in pancreatic islet, ductal, and endothelial cells in NHPs and humans. In pancreata from SARS-CoV-2–infected NHPs and COVID-19 patients, SARS-CoV-2 infected ductal, endothelial, and islet cells. These pancreata also exhibited generalized fibrosis associated with multiple vascular thrombi. Two out of 8 NHPs developed new-onset diabetes following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Two out of 5 COVID-19 patients exhibited new-onset diabetes at admission. These results suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infection of the pancreas may promote acute and especially chronic pancreatic dysfunction that could potentially lead to new-onset diabetes.
Mirza Muhammad Fahd Qadir, Manika Bhondeley, Wandy Beatty, Dina D. Gaupp, Lara A. Doyle-Meyers, Tracy Fischer, Ishitri Bandyopadhyay, Robert V. Blair, Rudolf Bohm, Jay Rappaport, Eric Lazartigues, Richard S. Vander Heide, Jay K. Kolls, Xuebin Qin, Franck Mauvais-Jarvis
This file is in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. If you have not installed and configured the Adobe Acrobat Reader on your system.
PDFs are designed to be printed out and read, but if you prefer to read them online, you may find it easier if you increase the view size to 125%.
Many versions of the free Acrobat Reader do not allow Save. You must instead save the PDF from the JCI Online page you downloaded it from. PC users: Right-click on the Download link and choose the option that says something like "Save Link As...". Mac users should hold the mouse button down on the link to get these same options.