Veterinary Faculty, Institute for Preclinical Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Institute of Physiology, Medical School University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia.
Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2020 Jun 9;10:327. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.00327. eCollection 2020.
COVID-19 morbidity and mortality have significant gender disparities, with higher prevalence and mortality in men. SARS-CoV-2 enters the lungs through the ACE2 enzyme, a member of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Although there are no data for the lung, the expressions of RAS components in other tissues are modulated by sex hormones, androgens, and estrogens. However, there are no data on sex-specific differences in ACE2 expression. If there is a sex difference in the expression of ACE2 in the lung, this could theoretically explain the gender disparity in COVID-19 disease. More importantly, although modulation of ACE2 will certainly not provide a cure for the COVID-19 disease, modulation of ACE2 by sex hormone modulators, if they affect the expression of ACE2, could potentially be developed into a supportive therapy for COVID-19 patients.
COVID-19 的发病率和死亡率存在显著的性别差异，男性的发病率和死亡率更高。SARS-CoV-2 通过血管紧张素转换酶 2（ACE2）酶进入肺部，ACE2 是肾素-血管紧张素系统（RAS）的成员。虽然肺部没有相关数据，但 RAS 成分在其他组织中的表达受到性激素、雄激素和雌激素的调节。然而，关于 ACE2 表达的性别特异性差异尚无数据。如果肺部 ACE2 的表达存在性别差异，这从理论上可以解释 COVID-19 疾病中的性别差异。更重要的是，尽管 ACE2 的调节肯定不能为 COVID-19 疾病提供治愈方法，但如果性激素调节剂通过调节 ACE2 的表达，那么它们可能会被开发成为 COVID-19 患者的支持性治疗方法。
