Scientists have long discovered that ACE2 plays an important role in the life of SARS, the causative agent of SARS in 2002-2003 and the precursor of the new coronavirus.
The causative agent of pneumonia uses ACE2 receptors (protein outgrowths on the surface of cells necessary for sending and receiving chemical signals) to penetrate the victims.
This year, scientists from the Second Military Medical University of Shanghai combined ACE2 protein with the IgG1 class antibody template, which made the protein more stable. The synthesized protein was tested on cultures of human cancer cells. Scientists tried to infect them with an artificial virus, consisting of fragments of the new coronavirus, HIV and other pathogens. However, the ACE2 they created successfully prevented an attack on the cells.
Researchers noted that this therapy may have a side effect: ACE2 is closely related to the functioning of the cardiovascular system, but during experiments on mice, the addition of copies of ACE2 to the bloodstream did not affect animals.
As Rambler reported, a new virus was found in the Chinese city of Wuhan (Hubei Province) in December 2019. According to recent data, 362 people became victims of coronavirus, the total number of cases in China exceeded 17 thousand, and 475 people recovered.
Virus cases have been identified in the United Kingdom, India, Italy, Australia, the Philippines, Malaysia, France, Germany, Finland, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Thailand, Japan, and the United States. January 31, it became known about the first two cases of coronavirus in Russia.
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