Fig. 2: Expression profiles of the ACE2 and TMPRSS2 proteins in the MOED.
Immunohistochemical investigations on the MOED for SARS-CoV-2 entry sites (ACE2, in pink; TMPRSS2, in red). Here, the olfactory marker protein (OMP, in green) allows the precise localization of the mature olfactory neurons. a Large view of OMP+ neurons of the MOED. Chemosensory cells are in direct contact with the nasal cavity. b Enlarged view of ((a), dashed rectangle), showing expression of ACE2 in the apical surface, Bowman’s gland and basal layer. A zoom in view of the apical surface is shown. c Co-expression profiles of TMPRSS2 and ACE2 in OMP- basal cells (white arrowhead, highlighted with zoom in view). d Control experiment (Ctrl neg) illustrating the absence of fluorescent background expression. Nuclei are counterstained with Dapi (DAPI, in blue). Representative protein expression profiles obtained from heterozygous OMP-GFP mice of 20 (a, b) and 6 months old (c, d). Scale bars are 50 μm (a), 15 μm (b), and 10 μm (c, d).
