Central Inter-Disciplinary Research Facility (CIDRF), MGM Advanced Research Institute (MGMARI), Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Puducherry, 607 402, India.
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute (MGMCRI), Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Puducherry, 607 402, India.
Biochimie. 2022 Oct;201:139-147. doi: 10.1016/j.biochi.2022.06.005. Epub 2022 Jun 17.
SARS-CoV-2 uses membrane bound Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) as a key host receptor for its entry. However, inconsistent results are available in terms of shedding of membrane ACE2 and circulating levels of soluble ACE2 during SARS-CoV-2. To ascertain soluble ACE2 as an effective biomarker for the prediction of COVID-19 outcome, in the present study, we investigated the levels of plasma ACE2 during the early phase of infection in COVID-19 patients. The study involved a total of 42 COVID-19 patients along with 10 healthy controls. Plasma levels of ACE2 was determined using ELISA at the time of admission and on day 7 post admission. The association of sACE2 with D-dimer a marker for hyper-coagulation was performed using a dependence test. Compared to healthy controls, SARS-CoV-2 cases has shown a huge increase in the sACE2 at the time of admission. During the course of infection, we found a significant increase (P ≤ 0.001) in sACE2 in severe cases compared to moderate. There was a strong increase in sACE2 in cases with hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Interestingly, a strong positive correlation (P ≤ 0.001) was obtained between sACE2 and D-dimer. Thus, an excessive shedding of ACE2 during the early phase is a common phenomenon in severe form of the SARS-CoV-2. Along with D-dimer, the sACE2 levels could serve as a clinical biomarker for the prediction of disease outcome. However further studies are needed to ascertain its role in host-virus interplay.
SARS-CoV-2 使用膜结合的血管紧张素转换酶 2（ACE2）作为其进入的关键宿主受体。然而，在 SARS-CoV-2 期间，膜 ACE2 的脱落和循环可溶性 ACE2 水平的结果不一致。为了确定可溶性 ACE2 作为 COVID-19 结局预测的有效生物标志物，本研究调查了 COVID-19 患者感染早期的血浆 ACE2 水平。该研究共纳入 42 例 COVID-19 患者和 10 例健康对照。在入院时和入院后第 7 天使用 ELISA 测定血浆 ACE2 水平。使用依存性检验分析 sACE2 与 D-二聚体（一种高凝标志物）之间的关系。与健康对照组相比，SARS-CoV-2 患者在入院时的 sACE2 水平显著升高。在感染过程中，我们发现严重病例的 sACE2 显著增加（P≤0.001）与中度病例相比。在患有高血压和糖尿病的病例中，sACE2 明显增加。有趣的是，sACE2 与 D-二聚体之间存在强烈的正相关关系（P≤0.001）。因此，在 SARS-CoV-2 严重形式中，早期 ACE2 的大量脱落是一种常见现象。与 D-二聚体一样，sACE2 水平可作为预测疾病结局的临床生物标志物。然而，需要进一步的研究来确定其在宿主-病毒相互作用中的作用。
