Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 2, 2025

Live Imaging and Quantification of Viral Infection in K18 hACE2 Transgenic Mice Using Reporter-Expressing Recombinant SARS-CoV-2
Published on: November 5, 2021
GDF15 and ACE2 stratify COVID-19 patients according to severity while ACE2 mutations increase infection
Margalida Torrens-Mas1, Catalina M Perelló-Reus2, Neus Trias-Ferrer1
1Translational Research in Aging and Longevity Group (TRIAL group), Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
Abstract:
Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is a persistent global pandemic with a very heterogeneous disease presentation ranging from a mild disease to dismal prognosis. Early detection of sensitivity and severity of COVID-19 is essential for the development of new treatments. In the present study, we measured the levels of circulating growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in plasma of severity-stratified COVID-19 patients and uninfected control patients and characterized the in vitro effects and cohort frequency of ACE2 SNPs. Our results show that while circulating GDF15 and ACE2 stratify COVID-19 patients according to disease severity, ACE2 missense SNPs constitute a risk factor linked to infection susceptibility.
Related Concept Videos
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms-SNPs
Antihypertensive Drugs: Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors
Cystic Fibrosis: Pathogenesis
CF is primarily caused by a genetic mutation in a chromosome 7 gene coding for the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein. The most common gene mutation leading to CF is the ΔF508 mutation,...
Acute Respiratory Failure-II
The underlying physiological abnormalities that contribute to hypoxemic respiratory failure include:
COPD: Pathogenesis and Clinical Features
The primary cause for the onset of COPD is cigarette smoking and exposure to air pollution. These hazardous factors initiate a chain reaction within the lungs, resulting in chronic inflammation, damage to the airways, and a...
Pneumonia II: Pathophysiology

