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Angiotensin‐converting enzyme 2: The old door for new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection
Author(s) -
Tan Heng Wee,
Xu YanMing,
Lau Andy T. Y.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
reviews in medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.06
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1099-1654
pISSN - 1052-9276
DOI - 10.1002/rmv.2122
Subject(s) - betacoronavirus , angiotensin converting enzyme 2 , coronavirus , virology , covid-19 , outbreak , pandemic , immunology , medicine , biology , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Summary Coronavirus (CoV) disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is an ongoing pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome CoV 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2). The highly contagious SARS‐CoV‐2 belongs to the genus Betacoronavirus , and it is phylogenetically closely related to SARS‐CoV, a human CoV that caused an outbreak back in 2002 to 2003. Both SARS‐CoV‐2 and SARS‐CoV enter human cells via the interactions between viral crown‐like spike protein and human angiotensin‐converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor. Here, we aim to review the involvement of ACE2 in human CoV infections by discussing the roles of ACE2 in CoV evolution, cross‐species transmissibility, and COVID‐19 susceptibility. We also provide our perspectives on COVID‐19 treatment and prevention.