Title:ACE2 as a Key Target for Treatment of COVID-19 Related Cardiovascular Diseases: Current Progress and Prospect
Volume: 22
Issue: 16
Author(s): Shuainan Li, Wenya Ma, Fan Yang, Yan Xu, Binbin Xu and Benzhi Cai*
Affiliation:
- Department of Pharmacy at the Second Affiliated Hospital, and Department of Pharmacology (The Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Research, Ministry of Education) at College of Pharmacy, Harbin Medical University, Harbin,China
Keywords:
COVID-19, cardiovascular diseases, heart injury, SARS-CoV-2, ACE2, RAAS.
Abstract: ACE2 has long been known as an injury protective protein, which can protect against a
variety of organ damage such as the heart, liver, kidney, and lung. Especially in cardiovascular diseases,
as a negative regulator of RAAS, ACE2 is an extremely important protective factor that
mainly plays a role by converting Ang II to Ang-(1-7). Nevertheless, with the recent outbreak of
COVID-19, it is exposed that another identity of ACE2 is the entry receptor for SARS-CoV-2,
which previously serves as the entry receptor for SARS. With the in-depth clinical research, it is
found that the severity and susceptibility of COVID-19 are related to cardiovascular diseases, and
SARS-CoV-2 binding to ACE2 receptor is also potentially associated with heart injury symptoms.
Therefore, in this article, we mainly summarize the relationship between ACE2, COVID-19, and
cardiovascular diseases/heart injury.
