ACE2 and COVID-19: targeting angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 as a possible treatment for COVID-19

Kwant, Ayla (2020) ACE2 and COVID-19: targeting angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 as a possible treatment for COVID-19. Master's Thesis / Essay, Biomedical Sciences.

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Abstract

A new virus called SARS-CoV-2 can cause a disease named COVID-19. As of October 29, the worldwide number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 is over 44 million, with over 1,1 million confirmed deaths. COVID-19 symptoms can range from fever, cough and muscle pain to acute respiratory distress syndrome, organ failure and shock. SARS-CoV-2 enters the human host cell via ACE2. ACE2 is a membrane bound enzyme, which can counterbalance the activity of ACE. ACE2 hydrolyses angiotensin II into angiotensin (1-7), which binds to the MAS receptor, leading to vasodilation. Furthermore, this has anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects. It appears that higher expression levels of ACE2 are correlated with higher diseases susceptibility. SARS-CoV-2 downregulates the expression of ACE2, leading to the imbalance between ACE and ACE2, which causes inflammation, oxidative stress, hypertension and severe tissue damage. Soluble ACE2, produced by the cleavage by ADAM17, still cleaves angiotensin II and can inhibit viral infection partly. ACE2 is an interesting potential target for treating COVID-19. It is complicated because of the dual role of ACE2. The use of stem cells, stimulation of ACE2 shedding, ACE2 stimulation and ACE2 inhibition are all considered strategies. The most promising appears to be the use of recombinant soluble ACE2, which can inhibit SARS-CoV-2 cellular entry while still protecting against the detrimental effects of the virus.

Item Type:	Thesis (Master's Thesis / Essay)
Supervisor name:	Goor, H. van
Degree programme:	Biomedical Sciences
Thesis type:	Master's Thesis / Essay
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	17 Feb 2021 11:22
Last Modified:	17 Feb 2021 11:22
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/23976

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