Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) expression increases with age in patients requiring mechanical ventilation.

ABSTRACT: Mortality due to Covid-19 is highly associated with advanced age, owing in large part to severe lower respiratory tract infection. SARS-CoV-2 utilizes the host ACE2 receptor for infection. Whether ACE2 abundance in the lung contributes to age-associated vulnerability is currently unknown. We set out to characterize the RNA and protein expression profiles of ACE2 in aging human lung in the context of phenotypic parameters likely to affect lung physiology. Examining publicly available RNA sequencing data, we discovered that mechanical ventilation is a critical variable affecting lung ACE2 levels. Therefore, we investigated ACE2 protein abundance in patients either requiring mechanical ventilation or spontaneously breathing. ACE2 distribution and expression were determined in archival lung sa

SUBMITTER: Baker SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7886150 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature