TMPRSS2 is both the most frequently altered gene in primary prostate cancer and a critical factor enabling cellular infection by coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2. The modulation of its expression by sex steroids could contribute to the male predominance of severe infections, and given that TMPRSS2 has no known indispensable functions, and inhibitors are available, it is an appealing target for prevention or treatment of respiratory viral infections.
Cancer discovery. 2020 Apr 10 [Epub ahead of print]
Konrad H Stopsack, Lorelei A Mucci, Emmanuel S Antonarakis, Peter S Nelson, Philip W Kantoff
Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York., Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts., Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland., Divisions of Human Biology and Clinical Research, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington., Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York. .