SARS-CoV-2 (2019-nCoV) Antigen Reagent

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a membrane receptor expressed on the surface of airway epithelial cells. In the early 21st century, scientists began to conduct in-depth research on ACE2. ACE2 has been shown to be the host cell receptor for two human coronaviruses, SARS-COV and HCoV-NL63. And it can interact with the coronavirus Spike protein. This interaction which mediated by the RBD domain of the Spike protein is considered to be a key step in membrane fusion between the virus and the cell. Recently, ACE2 has once again attracted great attention for it is shown to be a host cell receptor for a newly discovered lethal coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (2019-nCoV). This finding suggests that blocking the interaction between S protein and ACE2 is an effective treatment for coronavirus infection.

Theoretically, both SARS-CoV-2 virus and receptor ACE2 can be used as therapeutic targets for effective intervention against viral infection. Soluble Spike proteins or blocking antibodies can be used to block ACE2 to prevent viral infection. Similarly, soluble ACE2-Fc fusion protein can be used to block S1 protein on virions to achieve the same effect.

In addition to its important role in mediating virus entry into host cells, ACE2 is very likely to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of respiratory diseases. ACE2 is an important regulatory factor of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). ACE2 can negatively regulates its activity by converting angiotensin II into the product angiotensin 1-7. Dysregulation of ACE2 can be observed in lung lesions caused by RSV and avian influenza (H5N1) infection. And it is also shown that the use of ACE2-Fc fusion protein can reduce symptoms in animal models.

We have developed and produced a series of ACE2 related proteins and antibody reagents. Among them, ACE2 related protein reagents have a strong binding affinity to the Spike Protein and enzyme.