COVID-19 Infection and Circulating ACE2 Levels: Protective Role in Women and Children
Elena Ciaglia, Carmine Vecchione, Annibale Alessandro Puca
Abstract
It has been reported that angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the main host cell receptor of human pathogenic coronaviruses [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), HCoV-NL63, and SARSCoV-2 (COVID-19)], and it plays a crucial role in the entry of virus into the cell to cause the final infection (1). Wrapp and colleagues recently provided the Cryo-EM structure of the virus spike protein, the known ligand for ACE2, and documented a 10 to 20-fold higher affinity of ACE2 for SARS-CoV-2 compared to previous SARS-CoV (2).
Topics & Concepts
MedicineCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)2019-20 coronavirus outbreakPediatric Infectious DiseasePandemicVirologyIntensive care medicineImmunologyPediatricsInternal medicineInfectious disease (medical specialty)OutbreakDiseaseCOVID-19 Impact on ReproductionCOVID-19 and Mental HealthCOVID-19 Clinical Research Studies