eli5 wanted to ask this before but it was too “new ” of topic but what war ACE2 receptors???
(https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-wuhan-lab-complicated-origins.html)
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ACE2 receptors are proteins on the surface of cells and floating around in the blood. They are part of a system that regulates blood pressure by converting a chemical (angiotensin II) into one that lowers blood pressure (angiotensin).
In COVID, the virus’ spikes stuck to ACE2 and that’s how it got into cells where it would multiply. You can imagine if the virus mucked up enough ACE2, you’d expect to lose the blood pressure lowering function. Indeed it was observed that COVID infection caused blood pressure to increase.
It’s the membrane-bound version of ACE2, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. These are normally involved in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone signaling axis that regulates blood pressure.
It’s also relevant to SARS-CoV-2 and some other coronaviruses because these viruses are able to bind to ACE2 and essentially trick host cells into pulling in virus particles, kind of like a Trojan horse.
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