ACE2 as a Key Target for Treatment of COVID-19 Related Cardiovascular Diseases: Current Progress and Prospect

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.

Cite this article as:

Li Shuainan , Ma Wenya , Yang Fan , Xu Yan , Xu Binbin and Cai Benzhi *, ACE2 as a Key Target for Treatment of COVID-19 Related Cardiovascular Diseases: Current Progress and Prospect, Current Drug Targets 2021; 22 (16) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1389450122666210319110320