The relationship of soluble neuropilin-1 to severe COVID-19 risk factors in polycystic ovary syndrome

The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus enters target cells via the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor; however, ACE2 expression does not match SARS-CoV-2 tissue load, suggesting additional co-factors are required for viral entry [1]. Neuropilin-1 (NRP1) is such a co-factor that, when expressed alone shows minimal viral infectivity, but when co-expressed with ACE2 markedly increases viral infectivity [1]. NRP1 is a transmembrane glycoprotein, which is expressed in endothelial cells, and serves as a receptor for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) [2], and both NRP1 and VEGF expression are increased in COVID-19 patients [3,4]. SARS-CoV-2 uses the viral spike protein for cell entry, cleaving the protein that then attaches to NRP1 [5]. Therefore, tissues enriched for NRP1 have increased infectivity risk [1] and subjects expressing increased NRP1 may have increased risk.

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Published in: Metabolism Open
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
See article on publisher's website: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.metop.2021.100079