Needless to say, working an a GP surgery, I have been concerned by the latest news that a surgery shut down and that two doctors have caught the strain of Coronavirus that has caused so much death in China.
Looking it up, I noted that, according to Wikipedia, when it came to SARS, another type of coronavirus, the primary human receptor of the virus is angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). With the current viral strain threatening the world, again according to Wikipedia, publication of the 2019-nCoV genome led to several protein modeling experiments on the receptor binding protein (RBD) of the spike (S) protein of the virus. Results suggest that the S protein retains sufficient affinity to the Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor to use it as a mechanism of cell entry.
A link between a drug involved in this and a reduction in pneumonia has been noted in the past, this being ACE inhibitors. It may be that the reason for the reduction in this is because of the ACE cough that can occur. But it may be that this has some protective effect by interfering with the entry of the Coronavirus into cells.
Sadly, I have good blood pressure control so am not eligible for treatment with an ACE inhibitor. But for those who are on them, it will be interesting to see the outcomes when it comes to mortality compared to those who are not on one.
