Michigan State University

- ACE2,or angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, is a protein on the surface of pneumocyte cells that assists with transport of proteins through the membrane
- Diabetes causes the ACE2 protein to under perform as well as for there to be less total
- Because of this, many diabetes medications increase the activity rate of ACE2
- These drugs stimulate ACE2 so much that the protein will sometimes let other things through that it is not supposed to, this includes SARS-CoV-2
- This accounts for the increased risk of COVID in diabetes mellitus patients
- Some drugs which have been identified to have this effect are pioglitazone and liraglutide in animal studies

COVID-19, diabetes mellitus and ACE2: The conundrum

Seewoodhary, J. and Oozageer, R., 2020. Coronavirus and diabetes: an update. Practical Diabetes, 37(2), pp.41-42.

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