Angiotensin-converting enzyme as a new immunologic target for the new SARS-CoV-2.
Immunol Cell Biol
; 99(2): 192-205, 2021 02.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-735921
ABSTRACT
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the daily lives of millions of people worldwide and had caused significant mortality; hence, the assessment of therapeutic options is of great interest. The leading cause of death among COVID-19 patients is acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by hyperinflammation secondary to cytokine release syndrome (CRS). Cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, interferon-γ and interleukin-10, are the main mediators of CRS. Based on recent evidence, the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) II is known to be the target of the COVID-19 spike protein, which enables the virus to penetrate human cells. ACE II also possesses an anti-inflammatory role in many pathologies such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and other conditions, which are the main risk factors of poor prognosis in COVID-19 infection. Changes in tissue ACE II levels are associated with many diseases and hyperinflammatory states, and it is assumed that elevated levels of ACE II could aggravate the course of COVID-19 infection. Therefore, the use of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors (RASis) in COVID-19 patients could be hypothetically considered, though sufficient evidence is not presented by the scientific community. In this work, based on the most recent pieces of evidence, the roles of RAS and RASi in immunologic interactions are addressed. Furthermore, the molecular and immunologic aspects of RASi and their potential significance in COVID-19 are discussed.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Virus Internalization
/
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Prognostic study
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Immunol Cell Biol
Journal subject:
Allergy and Immunology
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Imcb.12396
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