ACE2 in the second act of COVID‐19 syndrome: Peptide dysregulation and possible correction with oestrogen. (18th January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Limei; Zetter, Mario A.; Guerra, Enrique C.; Hernández, Vito S.; Mahata, Sushil K.; Eiden, Lee E.
• Is Part Of: Journal of neuroendocrinology. Volume 33:Number 2(2021)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2021-01-18
• Subjects: Ang (1‐7) -- apelin -- asthma -- obesity -- SARS‐Cov‐2; Neuroendocrinology -- Periodicals; 616.4
• DOI: 10.1111/jne.12935
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0953-8194

Abstract

Abstract: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) has become the most critical pandemic of the 21st Century and the most severe since the 1918 influenza pandemic. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infects the host by binding to angiotensin‐converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). The role of ACE2 in the pathophysiology of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is a topic of debate, with clinical and experimental evidence indicating a multifaceted relationship between ACE2 activity and disease severity. Here, we review the mechanisms by which the peptidergic substrates and products of ACE and ACE2 contribute to physiological and pathophysiological processes and hypothesise how down‐regulation of ACE2 by SARS‐CoV‐2 cellular entry disrupts homeostasis. A better understanding of the endocrinology of the disease, in particular the neuroendocrinology of ACE2 during COVID‐19, may contribute to the timely design of new therapeutic strategies, including the regulation of ACE2 itself by steroid hormones, to ameliorate the severity of COVID‐19. Abstract : Angiotensin‐converting enzyme 2 is a double‐edgd sword in the COVID‐19 syndrome. The role of ACE2‐related peptide dysregulation in the severity of the syndrome is analysed. The rationale for oestrogen use in its functional restoration is analysed.