COVID ‐19: Understanding the impact of anti‐hypertensive drugs and hydroxychloroquine on the ACE1 and ACE2 in lung and adipose tissue in SHR and WKY rats

Losartan treatment decreased ACE2 in tissues, mainly in male than female SHR; captopril treatment showed decreased ACE2 in lung tissue of females and both sexes SHR in the adipose tissue. Hydroxychloroquine effectively decreased ACE2 in the lung of both sexes SHR and only in females WKY. And in the adipose tissue, hydroxychloroquine decreased ACE2 in male SHR and female WKY. AbstractHypertensive individuals taking anti-hypertensive drugs from renin-angiotensin system inhibitors may exhibit a more severe evolution of the disease when contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19 disease) due to potential increases in ACE2 expression. The study investigated ACE1 and ACE2 axes and hydroxychloroquine in the lungs and adipose tissue of male and female normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). SHRs were treated with losartan (10  mg/kg/day) or captopril (10 mg/kg/day) for 14 days or 7 days with hydroxychloroquine (200 mg/kg/day) in drinking water. WKY rats were also treated for 7 days with hydroxychloroquine. Blood pressure (BP), protein, and mRNA expression of ACE1 and ACE2 were analyzed in serum, adipose, and lu ng tissues. Losartan and captopril reduced BP in both sexes in SHR, whereas hydroxychloroquine increased BP in WKY rats. Losartan reduced ACE2 in serum and lungs in both sexes and in adipose tissue of male SHRs. Captopril decreased ACE2 protein in the lung of females and in adipose tissue in both se xes of SHRs. Hydroxychloroquine ...
Source: Physiological Reports - Category: Physiology Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research