TY - JOUR AU - Cheepsattayakorn, Attapon PY - 2022/04/08 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Potential Role of Soluble Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 In Salivary Coronavirus Infection Therapy JF - Journal of Disease and Health Risk DPC.3 JA - JDPC3 VL - 16 IS - 1 SE - Edtorial Note DO - UR - https://he01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/JDPC3/article/view/255713 SP - AB - <p><strong>Angiotensin-converting&nbsp; enzyme 2 (ACE 2), a&nbsp; monocarboxypeptidase&nbsp; for&nbsp; cleaving&nbsp; several&nbsp; peptides&nbsp; within&nbsp; the&nbsp; renin-angiotensin&nbsp; system&nbsp; and&nbsp; other&nbsp; substrates&nbsp; that&nbsp; widely&nbsp; expressed&nbsp; in&nbsp; the&nbsp; gastrointestinal&nbsp; tract&nbsp; and&nbsp; the&nbsp; kidneys, with&nbsp; relatively&nbsp; low&nbsp; expression&nbsp; in&nbsp; the&nbsp; lungs [1, Figure 1].&nbsp; &nbsp;Interestingly, higher&nbsp; RNA&nbsp; expression&nbsp; of&nbsp; ACE 2&nbsp; in&nbsp; lung&nbsp; AT2&nbsp; cells&nbsp; was&nbsp; found&nbsp; in&nbsp; Asian&nbsp; donors, compared&nbsp; to&nbsp; African&nbsp; and&nbsp; white&nbsp; American&nbsp; donors [2].&nbsp; Soluble&nbsp; ACE 2&nbsp; that&nbsp; lacks&nbsp; the&nbsp; membrane&nbsp; anchor&nbsp; circulates&nbsp; in&nbsp; small&nbsp; volumes&nbsp; in&nbsp; the&nbsp; blood [3].&nbsp; ACE 2&nbsp; and&nbsp; TMPRSS 2&nbsp; protein&nbsp; expression&nbsp; are&nbsp; identified&nbsp; mainly&nbsp; in&nbsp; the&nbsp; cytoplasm&nbsp; and&nbsp; cytomembrane&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; epithelial&nbsp; cells&nbsp; in&nbsp; the&nbsp; serous&nbsp; acinus&nbsp; cells&nbsp; in&nbsp; submandibular&nbsp; and&nbsp; parotid&nbsp; salivary&nbsp; glands&nbsp; and&nbsp; <em>in&nbsp; vitro</em>, exogenous&nbsp; ACE 2&nbsp; and&nbsp; TMPRSS 2&nbsp; can&nbsp; anchor&nbsp; and&nbsp; fuse&nbsp; to&nbsp; human&nbsp; oral&nbsp; mucosa&nbsp; and&nbsp; the&nbsp; spike&nbsp; protein&nbsp; of&nbsp; SARS-CoV-2&nbsp; can&nbsp; bind&nbsp; to&nbsp; ACE 2&nbsp; receptors&nbsp; in&nbsp; the&nbsp; salivary&nbsp; glands [4].&nbsp; A&nbsp; recent&nbsp; study&nbsp; demonstrated&nbsp; that&nbsp; during&nbsp; the&nbsp; hospitalization&nbsp; period, 25 %&nbsp; of&nbsp; COVID-19&nbsp; patients&nbsp; reported&nbsp; of&nbsp; taste&nbsp; impairment, 20 %&nbsp; of&nbsp; patients&nbsp; reported&nbsp; of&nbsp; difficulty&nbsp; in&nbsp; swallowing, and&nbsp; 15 %&nbsp; of&nbsp; patients&nbsp; reported&nbsp; of&nbsp; burning&nbsp; sensation [5].&nbsp; A&nbsp; recent&nbsp; study&nbsp; proposed&nbsp; that&nbsp; chewing&nbsp; gum&nbsp; with&nbsp; SARS-CoV-2-trapping&nbsp; proteins&nbsp; can&nbsp; debulking&nbsp; virus&nbsp; in&nbsp; saliva&nbsp; and&nbsp; minimizing&nbsp; viral&nbsp; transmission</strong></p> ER -