New Viral Diseases and New Possible Remedies by Means of the Pharmacology of the Renin-Angiotensin System

Figure 2

Left-hand side of the picture: soluble ACE2 (sACE2), obtained through the action of ADAM-17 on cellular ACE2, is the complete N-terminal ectodomain of the enzyme, which is still able to bind SARS-CoV-2 and convert Ang II into Ang1-7 in the extracellular space. Right-hand side of the picture: C-terminal ACE2 fragments of 13 kDa results from TMPRSS2 processing of cellular ACE2. Arginine and lysine residues within ACE2 amino acids 697 to 716 are essential for ACE2 cleavage by TMPRSS2; ADAM-17 requires arginine and lysine residues within ACE2 amino acids 652 to 659 for cleavage.