Could a specific ACE2 activator drug improve the clinical outcome of SARS-CoV-2? A potential pharmacological insight

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Article highlights

• In science, 2020 will be emblematically marked by the high flow of publications aimed at understanding, preventing, and treating Covid-19, but the pandemic scenario continues to advance with an opened avenue for therapeutic proposals.

• Importantly, downregulation of ACE2 after SARS-CoV-2 infection has not an assumption of no experimental set by now. The benefit of ACE2 activating persists unknown until experimental approaches show its inefficacy in Covid-19 pathophysiology.

• We are now eager to propose possible data on mechanisms of action of Dize in SARS-CoV-2 infection specially in late stages, and to show whether this ACE2 activator agents can be useful in the treatment of inflammatory response driven by ACE2 downregulation in SARS-CoV-2 infection.

• Ongoing experimental approaches in SARS-CoV-2-infected mice should be addressed for these issues.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from CNPq (Brazil) and Research Foundation for the State of Piauí—FAPEPI.