Molecular Mechanisms of Endothelialitis in SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Evidence for VE-Cadherin Cleavage by ACE2.

ABSTRACT: Long COVID-19 syndrome appears after Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus (SARS-CoV-2) infection with acute damage to microcapillaries, microthrombi, and endothelialitis. However, the mechanisms involved in these processes remain to be elucidated. All blood vessels are lined with a monolayer of endothelial cells called vascular endothelium, which provides a the major function is to prevent coagulation. A component of endothelial cell junctions is VE-cadherin, which is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the vessels through homophilic interactions of its Ca⁺⁺-dependent adhesive extracellular domain. Here we provide the first evidence that VE-cadherin is a target in vitro for ACE2 cleavage because its extracellular domain (hrVE-ED) contains two amino acid sequen

SUBMITTER: Bouillet L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10419376 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature