ACE2 and COVID-19: “...we found that ACE2 protein was present at significantly higher levels in term placentas collected from COVID-19 cases. These findings suggest that detection of ACE2 mRNA expression is not a reliable surrogate for ACE2 protein expression in the placenta and, importantly, that ACE2-mediated risk for placental infection by SARS-CoV-2 may vary over the course of pregnancy, with our detection of higher ACE2 levels in the first and second trimesters suggesting that the most vulnerability may exist prior to term.”