ACE2 polymorphisms as potential players in COVID-19 outcome

The clinical condition COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, was declared a pandemic by the WHO in March 2020. Currently, there are more than 5 million cases worldwide, and the pandemic has increased exponentially in many countries, with different incidences and death rates among regions/ethnicities and, intriguingly, between sexes. In addition to the many factors that can influence these discrepancies, we suggest a biological aspect, the genetic variation at the viral S protein receptor in human cells, ACE2 (angiotensin I-converting enzyme 2), which may contribute to the worse clinical outcome in males and in some regions worldwide. We performed exomics analysis in native and admixed South American populations, and we also conducted in silico genomics databank investigations in populations from other continents. Interestingly, at least ten polymorphisms in coding, noncoding and regulatory sites were found that can shed light on this issue and offer a plausible biological explanation for these epidemiological differences. In conclusion, there are ACE2 polymorphisms that could influence epidemiological discrepancies observed among ancestry and, moreover, between sexes.

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ACE2 polymorphisms as potential players in COVID-19 outcome

10.1101/2020.05.27.20114843 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

André Salim Khayat ◽

Paulo Pimentel de Assumpção ◽

Bruna Claudia Meireles Khayat ◽

Taíssa Maíra Thomaz Araújo ◽

Jéssica Almeida Batista-Gomes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South American ◽

Angiotensin I ◽

Biological Aspect ◽

Death Rates ◽

Angiotensin I Converting Enzyme ◽

Protein Receptor ◽

Biological Explanation ◽

The Many ◽

Shed Light ◽

Regulatory Sites

AbstractThe clinical condition COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, was declared a pandemic by the WHO in March 2020. Currently, there are more than 5 million cases worldwide, and the pandemic has increased exponentially in many countries, with different incidences and death rates among regions/ethnicities and, intriguingly, between sexes. In addition to the many factors that can influence these discrepancies, we suggest a biological aspect, the genetic variation at the viral S protein receptor in human cells, ACE2 (angiotensin I-converting enzyme 2), which may contribute to the worse clinical outcome in males and in some regions worldwide. We performed exomics analysis in native and admixed South American populations, and we also conducted in silico genomics databank investigations in populations from other continents. Interestingly, at least ten polymorphisms in coding, noncoding and regulatory sites were found that can shed light on this issue and offer a plausible biological explanation for these epidemiological differences. In conclusion, ACE2 polymorphisms should influence epidemiological discrepancies observed among ancestry and, moreover, between sexes.

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South American Tours: Work Relations in the Entertainment Market in South America

International Review of Social History ◽

10.1017/s0020859012000454 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 57 (S20) ◽

pp. 129-160

Author(s):

Cristiana Schettini

Keyword(s):

South America ◽

Young Women ◽

Social Experiences ◽

South American ◽

Work Relations ◽

Work Arrangements ◽

Police Investigations ◽

The Many ◽

European Women ◽

Shed Light

SummaryThis article explores the relationships between young European women who worked in the growing entertainment market in Argentine and Brazilian cities, and the many people who from time to time came under suspicion of exploiting them for prostitution. The international travels of young women with contracts to sing or dance in music halls, theatres, and cabarets provide a unique opportunity to reflect on some of the practices of labour intermediation. Fragments of their experiences were recorded by a number of Brazilian police investigations carried out in order to expel “undesirable” foreigners under the Foreigners Expulsion Act of 1907. Such sources shed light on the work arrangements that made it possible for young women to travel overseas. The article discusses how degrees of autonomy, violence, and exploitation in the artists’ work contracts were negotiated between parties at the time, especially by travelling young women whose social experiences shaped morally ambiguous identities as artists, prostitutes, and hired workers.

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Analyzing the interaction of human ACE2 and RBD of spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 in perspective of Omicron variant

10.1101/2021.12.23.473991 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Arijit Samanta ◽

Syed Sahajada Mahafujul Alam ◽

Safdar Ali ◽

Mehboob Hoque

Keyword(s):

Protein Docking ◽

The Novel ◽

Receptor Binding Domain ◽

Amino Acid Residues ◽

Angiotensin I ◽

S Protein ◽

Angiotensin I Converting Enzyme ◽

Protein Receptor ◽

New Variant ◽

Unique Amino Acid

The newly identified Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Voronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has steered concerns across the world due to the possession of large number of mutations leading to high infectivity and vaccine escape potential. The Omicron variant houses 32 mutations in S protein alone. The viral infectivity is determined mainly by the ability of spike (S) protein receptor binding domain (RBD) to bind to the human Angiotensin I Converting Enzyme 2 (hACE2) receptor. In this paper, the interaction of the RBDs of SARS-CoV-2 variants with hACE2 was analyzed by using protein-protein docking and compared with the novel Omicron variant. Our findings reveal that the Omicron RBD interacts strongly with hACE2 receptor via unique amino acid residues as compared to the Wuhan and many other variants. However, the interacting residues of RBD are found to be the same in Lamda (C.37) variant. These unique binding of Omicron RBD with hACE2 suggests an increased potential of infectivity and vaccine evasion potential of the new variant. The evolutionary drive of the SARS-CoV-2 may not be exclusively driven by RBD variants but surely provides for the platform for emergence of new variants.

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