Why men are more vulnerable to the coronavirus: now, a link to the key enzyme

In this screenshot from video broadcast by Oxford University of Great Britain, a volunteer is injected with an experimental COVID-19 vaccine or comparison shot as part of the first human trials in the UK (University of Oxford to via AP)

During the pandemic, researchers have presented several findings, and hypotheses, about why men appear to be more vulnerable to Covid-19 than women. Now, a new study suggests that the reason may be related to the concentration of a key enzyme in the blood of men and women.

The article, published in the European Heart Journal on Monday, looks at the concentration of the ACE2 enzyme in the blood. ACE2’s role in Covid-19 has already been established: it responds to the new coronavirus and allows it to infect the human cell. The new study of several thousand patients found that men have higher concentrations of ACE2 in their blood than women.

The researchers measured ACE2 concentrations in blood samples from several thousand heart failure patients from 11 European countries.

The study also found that heart failure patients taking a certain class of medications (called RAAS inhibitors) did not have higher concentrations of ACE2 in their blood. Some recent research had suggested that RAAS inhibitors could increase ACE2 concentrations in blood plasma, thereby increasing the risk of Covid-19 for cardiovascular patients taking these drugs, but the new study indicates that this is not the case.

Limitations

In a statement describing the study, the European Society of Cardiology discussed its limitations. The study only looked at plasma ACE2 concentrations, not in tissues such as lung tissue, so they cannot be sure that the concentrations in the blood are similar to those observed in the tissues. It is ACE2 in lung tissues that is considered key to lung infection.

Furthermore, according to the statement from the Society of Cardiology, the study cannot provide definitive evidence on the effects of RAAS inhibitors in patients with Covid-19. Their conclusions are mainly limited to patients with heart failure, and the patients did not have Covid-19.

Source: European Society of Cardiology.

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