AUTHOR=Meng Lingzhang , Qin Houji , Zhao Jingjie , He Siyuan , Wei Qiuju , Wang Zechen , Shen Jiajia , Sooranna Suren , Song Jian 

TITLE=Transcriptomic Signatures of Airway Epithelium Infected With SARS-CoV-2: A Balance Between Anti-infection and Virus Load

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cell-and-developmental-biology/articles/10.3389/fcell.2021.735307

DOI=10.3389/fcell.2021.735307

ISSN=2296-634X

ABSTRACT=COVID-19 pneumonia requires the effective medicament and therapies. However, it is a difficult problem in drug therapy to inhibit viral replication, inhibit cytokine storm and maintain an appropriate immune response. In this study, the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on the gene expression in lung epithelial cells from patients with COVID-19 were systematically evaluated with the bioinformatic analysis methods. Transcriptome expression specific to bystander (exposed but uninfected) and infected cells was found, and the vital pathways were identified by conducting the differentially expressed gene analysis, regarding the relationship between gene signatures of COVID-19 infection and the disease severity. We found that a high viral load does not necessarily imply a low response of epithelial cells or a poor disease convalescence. Lastly, potential therapeutic drugs were predicted, and some potentially feasible COVID-19 therapeutic drugs were reported, which was expected to maintain the balance of anti-infection effect and virus load in the epithelial cells.