Dissemin is shutting down on January 1st, 2025

Published in

MDPI, Cells, 7(10), p. 1752, 2021

DOI: 10.3390/cells10071752

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Lock, Stock and Barrel: Role of Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System in Coronavirus Disease 2019

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

Since the end of 2019, the medical-scientific community has been facing a terrible pandemic caused by a new airborne viral agent known as SARS-CoV2. Already in the early stages of the pandemic, following the discovery that the virus uses the ACE2 cell receptor as a molecular target to infect the cells of our body, it was hypothesized that the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system was involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. Since then, numerous studies have been published on the subject, but the exact role of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 is still a matter of debate. RAAS represents an important protagonist in the pathogenesis of COVID-19, providing the virus with the receptor of entry into host cells and determining its organotropism. Furthermore, following infection, the virus is able to cause an increase in plasma ACE2 activity, compromising the normal function of the RAAS. This dysfunction could contribute to the establishment of the thrombo-inflammatory state characteristic of severe forms of COVID-19. Drugs targeting RAAS represent promising therapeutic options for COVID-19 sufferers.