COVID-19 Spotlight: Human Angiotensin I Converting Enzyme 2

Human ACE2 (also known as ACEH; ACE Homolog) is an angiotensin-converting enzyme similar to ACE - Angiotensin 1 converting Enzyme. ACE2 is responsible for the breakdown of Angiotensin I to angiotensin 1-9, and the breakdown of Angiotensin II to angiotensin 1-7.¹ ACE2 is found in various different human tissues, and has an important role negatively regulating the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), a complex system primarily involved in regulating blood pressure.² More notably from recent events, has been shown to facilitate viral transmission of SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the cause of COVID-19.³ 

After the outbreak of Severe Acute respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2002, caused by SARS-CoV, studies have shown that ACE2 is a receptor for SARS-CoV. More recent studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2 gains entry into cells expressing ACE2, but not cells expressing other coronavirus receptors, or cells that do not express ACE2.³ This would indicate that ACE2 is the receptor for infection with SARS-CoV-2.³ The mechanism for infection with SARS-CoV-2 involves the spike glycoprotein on the surface of the virus binding to the ACE2 receptor, allowing for viral RNA to be released into the cell, initiating infection.⁴ ACE2 is highly expressed in alveolar epithelial cells, indicating that the lungs are typically where the initial infection occurs in humans.⁵ After initial infection, the virus often spreads to other areas of the body with high levels of ACE2 through blood circulation, often resulting in multi-organ injury.⁶  

Reddot Biotech is pleased to offer a Human Angiotensin I Converting Enzyme 2 ELISA kit in both our traditional and Ready-To-Use formats. Our Human ACE2 kits have a picogram range (detection range 15-625-1000pg/mL; sensitivity 7.7pg/mL) and are suitable for use with a variety of different sample types. For more information and to see the product manual, visit our product pages for RDR-ACE2-Hu and RD-ACE2-Hu. For any other questions, please feel free to contact us.

References and further reading:

1. ACE2 angiotensin I converting enzyme 2 [Homo sapiens (human)] - Gene - NCBI. (n.d.). Retrieved September 04, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/g...

2. Riordan, J. F. (2003). Angiotensin-I-converting enzyme and its relatives. Genome biology, 4(8), 225.

3. Zhou, P., Yang, X. L., Wang, X. G., Hu, B., Zhang, L., Zhang, W., ... & Chen, H. D. (2020). A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin. nature, 579(7798), 270-273.

4. Li, W., Moore, M. J., Vasilieva, N., Sui, J., Wong, S. K., Berne, M. A., ... & Choe, H. (2003). Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 is a functional receptor for the SARS coronavirus. Nature, 426(6965), 450-454.

5. Hamming, I., Timens, W., Bulthuis, M. L. C., Lely, A. T., Navis, G. V., & van Goor, H. (2004). Tissue distribution of ACE2 protein, the functional receptor for SARS coronavirus. A first step in understanding SARS pathogenesis. The Journal of Pathology: A Journal of the Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 203(2), 631-637.

6. Zou, X., Chen, K., Zou, J., Han, P., Hao, J., & Han, Z. (2020). Single-cell RNA-seq data analysis on the receptor ACE2 expression reveals the potential risk of different human organs vulnerable to 2019-nCoV infection. Frontiers of medicine, 1-8.

7. Hoffmann, M., Kleine-Weber, H., Schroeder, S., Krüger, N., Herrler, T., Erichsen, S., ... & Müller, M. A. (2020). SARS-CoV-2 cell entry depends on ACE2 and TMPRSS2 and is blocked by a clinically proven protease inhibitor. Cell.

8. Ni, W., Yang, X., Yang, D., Bao, J., Li, R., Xiao, Y., ... & Xu, Y. (2020). Role of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in COVID-19. Critical Care, 24(1), 1-10.