Nat Med: Oral infections and saliva are confirmed to be involved in the spread of new crowns

The World Health Organization classifies the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 as an airborne pathogen transmitted by infected droplets and aerosols by asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic and symptomatic individuals .

Oral manifestations, such as loss of taste, dry mouth, and oral lesions, are observed in approximately half of COVID-19 cases.

To solve this problem, the researchers generated and analyzed two single-cell RNA sequencing data sets (9 samples, 13,824 cells) of human salivary glands and gums, and identified 50 cell clusters.

SARS-CoV-2 virus entry factors such as ACE2 and TMPRSS members are widely enriched in epithelial cells of glands and oral mucosa .

There are epithelial cells hidden in the saliva of SARS-CoV-2 infected persons, showing the expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS, and having persistent SARS-CoV-2 infection.

After recovery, this asymptomatic cohort showed persistent saliva IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2.

In general, these data indicate that the oral cavity is an important place for SARS-CoV-2 infection, and implies that saliva is a potential route for the spread of SARS-CoV-2.

Original source:

Ni Huang et al.