Gastrointestinal symptoms are common in COVID-19 patients, especially in younger patients. Our hypothesis was that intestinal SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2 expression depends on patients’ age. We examined duodenal biopsies from 43 healthy human adults. ACE2 gene expression was directly correlated with age (Spearman’s r = 0.317, p = 0.039). With each year, duodenal ACE2 expression increased by 0.083 RU. The higher intestinal ACE2 mRNA expression in older patients may impact on their susceptibility to develop intestinal symptoms.

中文翻译：

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SARS-CoV-2受体ACE2基因在小肠中的表达与年龄有关。

胃肠道症状在COVID-19患者中很常见，尤其是在年轻患者中。我们的假设是肠道SARS-CoV-2受体ACE2的表达取决于患者的年龄。我们检查了来自43位健康成人的十二指肠活检。ACE2基因表达与年龄直接相关（Spearman r  = 0.317，p  = 0.039）。每年，十二指肠ACE2表达增加0.083 RU。老年患者中较高的肠道ACE2 mRNA表达可能会影响其出现肠道症状的易感性。