PLoS ONE (Jan 2021)

Plasma ACE2 predicts outcome of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients.

  • Tue W Kragstrup,
  • Helene Søgaard Singh,
  • Ida Grundberg,
  • Ane Langkilde-Lauesen Nielsen,
  • Felice Rivellese,
  • Arnav Mehta,
  • Marcia B Goldberg,
  • Michael R Filbin,
  • Per Qvist,
  • Bo Martin Bibby

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252799
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16, no. 6
p. e0252799

Abstract

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AimsSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) binds to angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) enabling entrance of the virus into cells and causing the infection termed coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19). Here, we investigate associations between plasma ACE2 and outcome of COVID-19.Methods and resultsThis analysis used data from a large longitudinal study of 306 COVID-19 positive patients and 78 COVID-19 negative patients (MGH Emergency Department COVID-19 Cohort). Comprehensive clinical data were collected on this cohort, including 28-day outcomes. The samples were run on the Olink® Explore 1536 platform which includes measurement of the ACE2 protein. High admission plasma ACE2 in COVID-19 patients was associated with increased maximal illness severity within 28 days with OR = 1.8, 95%-CI: 1.4-2.3 (P ConclusionThis study suggests that measuring plasma ACE2 is potentially valuable in predicting COVID-19 outcomes. Further, ACE2 could be a link between COVID-19 illness severity and its established risk factors hypertension, pre-existing heart disease and pre-existing kidney disease.