Interaction between RAAS inhibitors and ACE2 in the context of COVID-19
Jean-Jacques Mourad & Bernard I. Levy
Nature Reviews Cardiology (2020)
In the Comment article by Zheng and colleagues (COVID-19 and the cardiovascular system. Nat. Rev. Cardiol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-020-0360-5 (2020)), the crucial role of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was highlighted. ACE2 is a membrane-bound aminopeptidase that cleaves angiotensin I and angiotensin II into the angiotensin-(1–9) and angiotensin-(1–7) peptides. Several studies support the existence of a cardiovascular-protective ACE2–angiotensin-(1–7)–Mas receptor axis.