The role of SARS‐CoV‐2 target ACE2 in cardiovascular diseases

• Published in: Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine Vol. 25; no. 3; pp. 1342 - 1349
• Main Authors: Zhu, Hanzhao, Zhang, Liyun, Ma, Yubo, Zhai, Mengen, Xia, Lin, Liu, Jincheng, Yu, Shiqiang, Duan, Weixun
• Format: Journal Article Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.02.2021; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: ACE2; Angiotensin; Angiotensin II; Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 - metabolism; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 - pharmacology; Animals; Antioxidants; Apoptosis; Arrhythmias, Cardiac - metabolism; Arrhythmias, Cardiac - physiopathology; Blood pressure; Calcium; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases - complications; Cardiovascular Diseases - metabolism; Cardiovascular Diseases - physiopathology; Cardiovascular system; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - complications; COVID-19 - metabolism; COVID-19 Drug Treatment; Diminazene - pharmacology; Drugs; Enzymes; Fibrosis; Heart; Heart Failure - etiology; Humans; Hypertension; Hypertension - metabolism; Hypertension - physiopathology; Inflammation; Kinases; Myocardial Infarction - drug therapy; Myocardial Infarction - metabolism; Myocardial Infarction - physiopathology; Pandemics; Peptides; Proteins; RAS; Recombinant Proteins - pharmacology; Renin; Review; Reviews; SARS‐CoV‐2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Transforming growth factor-b; ACE2; SARS-CoV-2; cardiovascular diseases; RAS
• ISSN: 1582-1838; 1582-4934
• DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.16239

SARS‐CoV‐2, the virus responsible for the global coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) pandemic, attacks multiple organs of the human body by binding to angiotensin‐converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to enter cells. More than 20 million people have already been infected by the virus. ACE2 is not only a functional receptor of COVID‐19 but also an important endogenous antagonist of the renin‐angiotensin system (RAS). A large number of studies have shown that ACE2 can reverse myocardial injury in various cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) as well as is exert anti‐inflammatory, antioxidant, anti‐apoptotic and anticardiomyocyte fibrosis effects by regulating transforming growth factor beta, mitogen‐activated protein kinases, calcium ions in cells and other major pathways. The ACE2/angiotensin‐(1‐7)/Mas receptor axis plays a decisive role in the cardiovascular system to combat the negative effects of the ACE/angiotensin II/angiotensin II type 1 receptor axis. However, the underlying mechanism of ACE2 in cardiac protection remains unclear. Some approaches for enhancing ACE2 expression in CVDs have been suggested, which may provide targets for the development of novel clinical therapies. In this review, we aimed to identify and summarize the role of ACE2 in CVDs.