COVID-19 Review Volume 12, Issue 23 pp 24453—24461
Role of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 in neurodegenerative diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic
Figure 2. The role of ACE2 in neurodegenerative diseases. Reduction of ACE2 and ACE levels has been found in many neurodegenerative diseases, such as AD, PD and MS. The over-activation of ACE/Ang2/AT1 pathway and the imbalance of ACE2/Ang(1-7)/Mas pathway have been found to be closely related to the occurrence of AD. In addition, ACE2/Ang(1-7)/Mas pathway can alleviate the symptoms of AD by regulating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. ACE and ACE2 are also involved in the transformation of Aβ protein in AD patients. ACE: angiotensin converting enzyme; Ang: angiotensin; AT1R: Ang II type 1 receptor; Aβ: amyloid-β; MASR: MAS receptor.