Cardiorenal Tissues Express SARS-CoV-2 Entry Genes and Basigin (BSG/CD147) Increases With Age in Endothelial Cells

Vascular and cardiovascular inflammation and thrombosis occur in patients with severe coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Advancing age is the most significant risk factor for severe COVID-19. Using transcriptomic databases, the authors found that: 1) cardiovascular tissues and endothelial cells express putative genes for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection, including angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 ( ACE2 ) and basigin ( BSG ); 2) severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 receptor pathways ACE2 /transmembrane serine protease 2 and BSG /peptidylprolyl isomerase B(A) polarize to lung/epithelium and vessel/endothelium, respectively; 3) expression of host genes is relatively stable with age; and 4) notable exceptions are ACE2 , which decreases with age in some tissues, and BSG , which increases with age in endothelial cells, suggesting that BSG expression in the vasculature may explain the heightened risk for severe disease with age.