Androgen regulation of pulmonary AR, TMPRSS2 and ACE2 with implications for sex-discordant COVID-19 outcomes.

ABSTRACT: The sex discordance in COVID-19 outcomes has been widely recognized, with males generally faring worse than females and a potential link to sex steroids. A plausible mechanism is androgen-induced expression of TMPRSS2 and/or ACE2 in pulmonary tissues that may increase susceptibility or severity in males. This hypothesis is the subject of several clinical trials of anti-androgen therapies around the world. Here, we investigated the sex-associated TMPRSS2 and ACE2 expression in human and mouse lungs and interrogated the possibility of pharmacologic modification of their expression with anti-androgens. We found no evidence for increased TMPRSS2 expression in the lungs of males compared to females in humans or mice. Furthermore, in male mice, treatment with the androgen receptor antagonist enz

SUBMITTER: Baratchian M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8159988 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature