Researchers believe inhaling so-called ACE2 proteins - found in lower levels in men with Covid - may provide a way to help protect people from Covid infection prior to entering higher-risk situations.
Researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern have developed an aerosolized, mutated form of ACE2 that effectively neutralizes various SARS-CoV-2 variants in both cell cultures and mice. The study suggests that this modified ACE2 has promising preventive and therapeutic potential against COVID-19, especially with its easy aerosolized administration.
A recent study in the Journal of Biomedical Science examines the critical role of ACE2, an enzyme involved in blood volume and electrolyte balance, in chronic diseases like cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, and COVID-19. The research suggests that ACE2 could serve as both a disease severity biomarker and a therapeutic target.
Unexpected new insights into how COVID-19 infects cells may help explain why coronaviruses are so good at jumping from species to species and will help scientists better predict how COVID-19 will evolve.