The Impact of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) Expression Levels in Patients with Comorbidities on COVID-19 Severity: A Comprehensive Review

Data de publicação:

Autores da FMUP

  • Ana Sofia Quinta E Costa Neves Oliveira

    Autor

Participantes de fora da FMUP

  • Rodrigues, R

Unidades de investigação

Abstract

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) has been proved to be the main host cell receptor for the binding of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein binds to ACE2 to initiate the process of replication. This enzyme is widely present in human organ tissues, such as the heart and lung. The pathophysiology of ACE2 in SARS-CoV-2 infection is complex and may be associated with several factors and conditions that are more severe in COVID-19 patients, such as age, male gender, and comorbidities, namely, cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, obesity, and diabetes. Here we present a comprehensive review that aims to correlate the levels of expression of the ACE2 in patients with comorbidities and with a poor outcome in COVID-19 disease. Significantly higher levels of expression of ACE2 were observed in myocardial and lung tissues in heart failure and COPD patients, respectively. An age-dependent increase in SARS2-CoV-2 receptors in the respiratory epithelium may be also responsible for the increased severity of COVID-19 lung disease in elderly people. Although the role of ACE2 is highlighted regarding the damage that can arise upon the SARS-CoV-2 invasion, there was no association observed between renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors and the severity of COVID-19.

Dados da publicação

ISSN/ISSNe:
2076-2607, 2076-2607

Microorganisms  MDPI AG

Tipo:
Review
Páginas:
1692-

Citações Recebidas na Web of Science: 18

Documentos

  • Não há documentos

Métricas

Filiações mostrar / ocultar

Keywords

  • ACE2; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; comorbidity; viral receptor

Proyectos asociados

Invasive Candida infections: the role of biomarkers and therapeutic drug monitoring in ICU settings.

Investigador Principal: Ana Sofia Quinta e Costa Neves Oliveira

Estudo Observacional Académico (CandidaICU) . 2021

Citar a publicação

Partilhar a publicação