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Review
. 2021 Jun:23:101077.
doi: 10.1016/j.genrep.2021.101077. Epub 2021 Mar 11.

ACE2: At the crossroad of COVID-19 and lung cancer

Gunnar Gottschalk  1 , Konstance Knox  2 , Avik Roy  1
Affiliations
Review

ACE2: At the crossroad of COVID-19 and lung cancer

Gunnar Gottschalk et al. Gene Rep. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Upregulation of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme-2 (ACE2) was frequently observed in patients with lung cancer. Interestingly, our recent study revealed that the same ACE2 receptor was also strongly upregulated in lungs during SARS-CoV2 infection. Therefore, it is possible that the upregulated expression of ACE2 in lung tumors might increase the susceptibility to COVID-19 infection in lung cancer patients. However, the molecular mechanism for the regulation of ACE2 is known neither in lung tumors nor in COVID-19. Under this review, we attempt to identify transcription factors (TFs) in the promoter of ACE2 that promote the expression of ACE2 both in COVID-19 infection and lung cancer. This review would decipher the molecular role of ACE2 in the upscaled fatality of lung cancer patients suffering from COVID-19.

Keywords: ACE2; ACE2, Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2; COVID-19; HBV, Hepatitis B virus; HCV, Hepatitis C virus; HSV, Herpes Simplex Virus; Lung cancer; RAS, Renin Angiotensin System; SARS-CoV2; STAT, signal transducer and activator of transcription; STAT3.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
ACE2 at the crossroad of lung cancer and COVID-19 infection. (A) Pathobiological roles of ACE2 during lung tumor progression (enclosed in red square) and COVID-19 (enclosed in blue square). (B) Promoter analysis of ACE2 for STAT3 binding. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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