J Cardiovasc Transl Res
. 2022 Jan 1.
doi: 10.1007/s12265-021-10147-3. Online ahead of print.
The Effects of ATIR Blocker on the Severity of COVID-19 in Hypertensive Inpatients and Virulence of SARS-CoV-2 in Hypertensive hACE2 Transgenic Mice
Xiaoliang Jiang # 1 , Huadong Li # 2 , Yong Liu # 3 , Linlin Bao # 1 , Lingjun Zhan # 1 , Hong Gao 1 , Wei Deng 1 , Jing Xue 1 , Jiangning Liu 1 , Xing Liu 1 , Junli Li 1 , Jie Wang 1 , Shuang Wu 2 , Mingzhe Yan 2 , Wei Luo 4 , Pedro A Jose 5 , Chuan Qin 1 , Xiuhong Yang 6 , Dingyu Zhang 2 , Zhiwei Yang 7
Affiliations
- PMID: 34973134
- DOI: 10.1007/s12265-021-10147-3
Abstract
Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is required for the cellular entry of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. ACE2, via the Ang-(1-7)-Mas-R axis, is part of the antihypertensive and cardioprotective effects of the renin-angiotensin system. We studied hospitalized COVID-19 patients with hypertension and hypertensive human(h) ACE2 transgenic mice to determine the outcome of COVID-19 with or without AT1 receptor (AT1R) blocker treatment. The severity of the illness and the levels of serum cardiac biomarkers (CK, CK-BM, cTnI), as well as the inflammation markers (IL-1, IL-6, CRP), were lesser in hypertensive COVID-19 patients treated with AT1R blockers than those treated with other antihypertensive drugs. Hypertensive hACE2 transgenic mice, pretreated with AT1R blocker, had increased ACE2 expression and SARS-CoV-2 in the kidney and heart, 1 day post-infection. We conclude that those hypertensive patients treated with AT1R blocker may be at higher risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, AT1R blockers had no effect on the severity of the illness but instead may have protected COVID-19 patients from heart injury, via the ACE2-angiotensin1-7-Mas receptor axis.
Keywords: AT1 receptor blocker; Angiotensin converting enzyme 2; Coronavirus disease 2019; Hypertension.