23. But ACE2 mutants like this dont exist in the real world. What else could play with ACE2 conformation and around the ACE2-CLD? In pink we have a solute carrier (SLC6A19/SLC6A20) that forms a heterodimer of dimers with ACE2. Does this structure help Omicrons?
September 25, 2026 at 12:25 PM
23. But ACE2 mutants like this dont exist in the real world. What else could play with ACE2 conformation and around the ACE2-CLD? In pink we have a solute carrier (SLC6A19/SLC6A20) that forms a heterodimer of dimers with ACE2. Does this structure help Omicrons?
Welcome to Covid-25. Great time to fire public health experts!🙄
“This new one (HKU5-CoV-2) uses the ACE2 receptor to infect organisms—SARS-CoV-2 also uses the ACE2 receptor for infection.
HKU5-CoV-2 is a coronavirus belonging to the merbecovirusgroup, which also includes the virus that causes MERS.”
“This new one (HKU5-CoV-2) uses the ACE2 receptor to infect organisms—SARS-CoV-2 also uses the ACE2 receptor for infection.
HKU5-CoV-2 is a coronavirus belonging to the merbecovirusgroup, which also includes the virus that causes MERS.”
New coronavirus discovered in Chinese bats sparks alarm
The virus binds to humans in a similar way to the virus that causes COVID-19.
www.newsweek.com
February 24, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Welcome to Covid-25. Great time to fire public health experts!🙄
“This new one (HKU5-CoV-2) uses the ACE2 receptor to infect organisms—SARS-CoV-2 also uses the ACE2 receptor for infection.
HKU5-CoV-2 is a coronavirus belonging to the merbecovirusgroup, which also includes the virus that causes MERS.”
“This new one (HKU5-CoV-2) uses the ACE2 receptor to infect organisms—SARS-CoV-2 also uses the ACE2 receptor for infection.
HKU5-CoV-2 is a coronavirus belonging to the merbecovirusgroup, which also includes the virus that causes MERS.”
The COVID brain fog explained.
The COVID-19 virus binds to the ACE2 receptor to enter cells. Dopamine producing neurons are rich in the ACE2 receptor.
The virus causes disruption in the dopamine network in the brain.
🧪 tech-paper.com/scientists-f...
The COVID-19 virus binds to the ACE2 receptor to enter cells. Dopamine producing neurons are rich in the ACE2 receptor.
The virus causes disruption in the dopamine network in the brain.
🧪 tech-paper.com/scientists-f...
Scientists finally have a biological explanation for why long COVID patients lose motivation and can't think clearly. They scanned their brains and found the dopamine system was physically damaged - T...
Millions of people with long COVID report the same cluster of symptoms: a crushing lack of motivation, an inability to think clearly, memory that slips, movements that feel slower than they should. Fo...
tech-paper.com
August 1, 2026 at 3:19 PM
The COVID brain fog explained.
The COVID-19 virus binds to the ACE2 receptor to enter cells. Dopamine producing neurons are rich in the ACE2 receptor.
The virus causes disruption in the dopamine network in the brain.
🧪 tech-paper.com/scientists-f...
The COVID-19 virus binds to the ACE2 receptor to enter cells. Dopamine producing neurons are rich in the ACE2 receptor.
The virus causes disruption in the dopamine network in the brain.
🧪 tech-paper.com/scientists-f...
Really exciting research that could lead to development of new anti-virals effective against Sarscov-2 and other coronaviruses that target ace2 on host cells to infect the host. By directly targeting how ace2 stabilises by using an inhibitor they could prevent infection with SarsCoV2 in mice.
USP2 inhibition prevents infection with ACE2-dependent coronaviruses in vitro and is protective agai...
USP2 inhibition leads to the proteasomal degradation of ACE2, offering a therapeutic candidate for ACE2-dependent coronavirus infections.
www.science.org
December 13, 2023 at 8:08 AM
Really exciting research that could lead to development of new anti-virals effective against Sarscov-2 and other coronaviruses that target ace2 on host cells to infect the host. By directly targeting how ace2 stabilises by using an inhibitor they could prevent infection with SarsCoV2 in mice.
21. Here we started to look at known ACE2 domains that TMPRSS2 interacted with. The ACE2 Collectrin like domain (CLD). When we mutated the CLD we rescued Omicron infection in vitro and in vivo.
September 25, 2026 at 12:23 PM
21. Here we started to look at known ACE2 domains that TMPRSS2 interacted with. The ACE2 Collectrin like domain (CLD). When we mutated the CLD we rescued Omicron infection in vitro and in vivo.
24. Turns out if you co-express solute carriers SLC6A19 or SLC6A20 with ACE2 and TMPRSS2, you see Omicrons replicate even better than ACE2 CLD mutants + TMPRSS2. And once again, its primarily during cell-cell spread as virion Spike is depleted.
September 25, 2026 at 12:26 PM
24. Turns out if you co-express solute carriers SLC6A19 or SLC6A20 with ACE2 and TMPRSS2, you see Omicrons replicate even better than ACE2 CLD mutants + TMPRSS2. And once again, its primarily during cell-cell spread as virion Spike is depleted.
ACE2 Decoy Receptor Battles Mutant SARS-CoV-2 Variants
Addressing COVID needs proactive strategies, not just reactions. The ACE2 decoy receptor shows promise in keeping up with viral evolution. Continued research may deliver safer, more effective treatments for a healthier future.
archive.md/sGKXB
Addressing COVID needs proactive strategies, not just reactions. The ACE2 decoy receptor shows promise in keeping up with viral evolution. Continued research may deliver safer, more effective treatments for a healthier future.
archive.md/sGKXB
September 5, 2025 at 7:29 AM
ACE2 Decoy Receptor Battles Mutant SARS-CoV-2 Variants
Addressing COVID needs proactive strategies, not just reactions. The ACE2 decoy receptor shows promise in keeping up with viral evolution. Continued research may deliver safer, more effective treatments for a healthier future.
archive.md/sGKXB
Addressing COVID needs proactive strategies, not just reactions. The ACE2 decoy receptor shows promise in keeping up with viral evolution. Continued research may deliver safer, more effective treatments for a healthier future.
archive.md/sGKXB
26. To cut a long story short... TMPRSS2 is cleaving the FCS of Spike at the infected cell membrane. When ACE2 is co-expressed with TMPRSS2 it blocks this cleavage event. Solute carriers work by quarantining ACE2 from TMPRSS2 & in doing so free TMPRSS2 to cut the FCS.
September 25, 2026 at 12:28 PM
26. To cut a long story short... TMPRSS2 is cleaving the FCS of Spike at the infected cell membrane. When ACE2 is co-expressed with TMPRSS2 it blocks this cleavage event. Solute carriers work by quarantining ACE2 from TMPRSS2 & in doing so free TMPRSS2 to cut the FCS.
1- For a long time I have been talking at length about ACE2 & SARS-CoV-2 and how ACE2 dictates complex outcomes in various tissues based on its conformation when engaged as a solute carrier chaperone or in the angiotensin system. Now we see this is 1/2 the story.
September 25, 2026 at 12:04 PM
1- For a long time I have been talking at length about ACE2 & SARS-CoV-2 and how ACE2 dictates complex outcomes in various tissues based on its conformation when engaged as a solute carrier chaperone or in the angiotensin system. Now we see this is 1/2 the story.
the mechanism from the paper is basically that COVID will bind to ACE2 and HRH1, using HRH1 to better bind to ACE2. antihistamines saturate HRH1 so that COVID can’t bind to it as easily, making infection and replication more difficult.
July 7, 2024 at 9:55 AM
the mechanism from the paper is basically that COVID will bind to ACE2 and HRH1, using HRH1 to better bind to ACE2. antihistamines saturate HRH1 so that COVID can’t bind to it as easily, making infection and replication more difficult.
Trauma -> Autoimmune disease -> Increase ACE2 -> susceptible to covid
January 15, 2025 at 3:38 AM
Trauma -> Autoimmune disease -> Increase ACE2 -> susceptible to covid
🙏BITTE, Volksverpetzer, nicht *war* gefährlich, Corona IST noch gefährlich!
Gerade streiten neue Varianten um die Vorherrschaft, ein/zwei sehr immumflüchtig (MC.10.1 and NP.1), aber mit geringerer ACE2-Bindungskraft und eine nicht so immunflüchtige mit starker ACE2-Bindungsstärke (LP.8.1).
Gerade streiten neue Varianten um die Vorherrschaft, ein/zwei sehr immumflüchtig (MC.10.1 and NP.1), aber mit geringerer ACE2-Bindungskraft und eine nicht so immunflüchtige mit starker ACE2-Bindungsstärke (LP.8.1).
December 30, 2024 at 3:17 PM
🙏BITTE, Volksverpetzer, nicht *war* gefährlich, Corona IST noch gefährlich!
Gerade streiten neue Varianten um die Vorherrschaft, ein/zwei sehr immumflüchtig (MC.10.1 and NP.1), aber mit geringerer ACE2-Bindungskraft und eine nicht so immunflüchtige mit starker ACE2-Bindungsstärke (LP.8.1).
Gerade streiten neue Varianten um die Vorherrschaft, ein/zwei sehr immumflüchtig (MC.10.1 and NP.1), aber mit geringerer ACE2-Bindungskraft und eine nicht so immunflüchtige mit starker ACE2-Bindungsstärke (LP.8.1).
ACE2 and HRH1 (histamine 1 receptor) actually bind to each other, which can help COVID enter cells. So there's sort of 2 paths to entry, either through ACE2, or if there's not a lot of ACE2 receptors, through HRH1.
Antihistamines that block H1 could prevent COVID from entering cells!!
7/9
Antihistamines that block H1 could prevent COVID from entering cells!!
7/9
September 7, 2025 at 9:12 PM
ACE2 and HRH1 (histamine 1 receptor) actually bind to each other, which can help COVID enter cells. So there's sort of 2 paths to entry, either through ACE2, or if there's not a lot of ACE2 receptors, through HRH1.
Antihistamines that block H1 could prevent COVID from entering cells!!
7/9
Antihistamines that block H1 could prevent COVID from entering cells!!
7/9
Study: Unveiling alternate pathways for SARS-CoV-2 infection via extracellular vesicle-mediated transfer of ACE2 and TMPRSS2
Published: 10 April 2026
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Published: 10 April 2026
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Unveiling alternate pathways for SARS-CoV-2 infection via extracellular vesicle-mediated transfer of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 - Nature Communications
Extracellular vesicles from lung epithelial cells deliver ACE2 and TMPRSS2 to recipient cells, enabling SARS-CoV-2 infection beyond receptor-expressing cells and expanding viral tropism.
www.nature.com
April 13, 2026 at 5:01 AM
Study: Unveiling alternate pathways for SARS-CoV-2 infection via extracellular vesicle-mediated transfer of ACE2 and TMPRSS2
Published: 10 April 2026
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Published: 10 April 2026
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
If you want to test whether raccoon dog ACE2 can act as an entry receptor for SARS-CoV-2, maybe try infecting raccoon dog ACE2 with the actual virus.
Don’t make claims about virology you can’t back up with virology data.
Don’t make claims about virology you can’t back up with virology data.
I’ve seen this paper doing the rounds as a means to say racoon dogs can’t be infected by SARS2. To be fair to the intellectually challenged members of BSNow and DRASTIC, the authors of this paper have misrepresented their own data in a breathtakingly egregious way.
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
Receptor binding and structural basis of raccoon dog ACE2 binding to SARS-CoV-2 prototype and its variants
Author summary In our study, we investigated the potential role of raccoon dogs as hosts for SARS-CoV-2 by examining the binding affinities between the spike (S) protein receptor binding domain (RBD) ...
journals.plos.org
December 9, 2024 at 11:13 PM
If you want to test whether raccoon dog ACE2 can act as an entry receptor for SARS-CoV-2, maybe try infecting raccoon dog ACE2 with the actual virus.
Don’t make claims about virology you can’t back up with virology data.
Don’t make claims about virology you can’t back up with virology data.
Given ~equal growth, a variant w/higher ACE2 almost always wins out. As @jbloomlab.bsky.social has explained, an ACE2-affinity buffer gives a variant room to maneuver (mutationally), & given time, it will find a way to spend its ACE2 credit to its advantage. LP.8.1 is the definite favorite now.
5/6
5/6
December 28, 2024 at 10:58 PM
Given ~equal growth, a variant w/higher ACE2 almost always wins out. As @jbloomlab.bsky.social has explained, an ACE2-affinity buffer gives a variant room to maneuver (mutationally), & given time, it will find a way to spend its ACE2 credit to its advantage. LP.8.1 is the definite favorite now.
5/6
5/6
Second, as Yunlong Cao & @jbloomlab.bsky.social showed, S:L455S cause a large decrease in ACE2 binding. In circulation, dramatically increased Ab evasion conferred by L455S easily outweighs the ACE2-binding cost. But in someone w/a weak type 1 Ab response…
9/12
9/12
January 2, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Second, as Yunlong Cao & @jbloomlab.bsky.social showed, S:L455S cause a large decrease in ACE2 binding. In circulation, dramatically increased Ab evasion conferred by L455S easily outweighs the ACE2-binding cost. But in someone w/a weak type 1 Ab response…
9/12
9/12
Do you remember BA.3—the weakling cousin of BA.1 & BA.2 that seemed to take the worst from each & had weaker ACE2 binding than even the ancestral Wuhan Virus?
After three years, BA.3 is back.
And it is transmitting.
Who saw this coming?
1/13
After three years, BA.3 is back.
And it is transmitting.
Who saw this coming?
1/13
March 12, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Do you remember BA.3—the weakling cousin of BA.1 & BA.2 that seemed to take the worst from each & had weaker ACE2 binding than even the ancestral Wuhan Virus?
After three years, BA.3 is back.
And it is transmitting.
Who saw this coming?
1/13
After three years, BA.3 is back.
And it is transmitting.
Who saw this coming?
1/13
Remarkably, the NJ Spike had a nearly identical binding footprint on ACE2 as the parent Spike, despite only 10/25 of the ACE2 binding residues being conserved.
6/
6/
November 21, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Remarkably, the NJ Spike had a nearly identical binding footprint on ACE2 as the parent Spike, despite only 10/25 of the ACE2 binding residues being conserved.
6/
6/
…the ACE2/Ab-evasion tradeoff might favor 455L. Furthermore, there is reason to believe that high ACE2 affinity is especially advantageous in chronic infections. Philipp Lang & co-authors showed that high receptor affinity helps evade T-cell & IFN responses.
10/12
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38497668/
January 2, 2025 at 5:03 PM
…the ACE2/Ab-evasion tradeoff might favor 455L. Furthermore, there is reason to believe that high ACE2 affinity is especially advantageous in chronic infections. Philipp Lang & co-authors showed that high receptor affinity helps evade T-cell & IFN responses.
10/12
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38497668/
Spannende Studie aus China:
Wissenschaftler*innen entwickelten ein Nasenspray, das stabilisierte ACE2 Partikel enthält.
Diese binden an das Spike Protein von SARS-CoV-2 und verhindern, dass sich das Virus an den körpereigenen ACE2 Rezeptor anlagern und damit die Infektion.
1/4
Wissenschaftler*innen entwickelten ein Nasenspray, das stabilisierte ACE2 Partikel enthält.
Diese binden an das Spike Protein von SARS-CoV-2 und verhindern, dass sich das Virus an den körpereigenen ACE2 Rezeptor anlagern und damit die Infektion.
1/4
March 4, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Spannende Studie aus China:
Wissenschaftler*innen entwickelten ein Nasenspray, das stabilisierte ACE2 Partikel enthält.
Diese binden an das Spike Protein von SARS-CoV-2 und verhindern, dass sich das Virus an den körpereigenen ACE2 Rezeptor anlagern und damit die Infektion.
1/4
Wissenschaftler*innen entwickelten ein Nasenspray, das stabilisierte ACE2 Partikel enthält.
Diese binden an das Spike Protein von SARS-CoV-2 und verhindern, dass sich das Virus an den körpereigenen ACE2 Rezeptor anlagern und damit die Infektion.
1/4
SARS-CoV-2 disrupts the ACE2 receptor, leading to a Pandemonium of harsh effects such as vessel constriction, inflammation, and clotting.
Restoring proper ACE2 function is key to bringing the ACE2-Angiotensin II Axis back into balance.
Restoring proper ACE2 function is key to bringing the ACE2-Angiotensin II Axis back into balance.
November 30, 2024 at 2:15 AM
SARS-CoV-2 disrupts the ACE2 receptor, leading to a Pandemonium of harsh effects such as vessel constriction, inflammation, and clotting.
Restoring proper ACE2 function is key to bringing the ACE2-Angiotensin II Axis back into balance.
Restoring proper ACE2 function is key to bringing the ACE2-Angiotensin II Axis back into balance.
🧠 Daily Feed of Brain Damage 🧠
Your anxiety isn't psychosomatic🤬
@atranscendedman.bsky.social 🙏🏻
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Your anxiety isn't psychosomatic🤬
@atranscendedman.bsky.social 🙏🏻
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Early life ACE2 inhibition leads to long term anxiety-like behaviour in rats by disrupting the amygdala
Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is important for cardiac and renal development as well as appropriate perinatal growth. In addition, ACE2 has r…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:27 AM
🧠 Daily Feed of Brain Damage 🧠
Your anxiety isn't psychosomatic🤬
@atranscendedman.bsky.social 🙏🏻
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Your anxiety isn't psychosomatic🤬
@atranscendedman.bsky.social 🙏🏻
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The increased ACE2 interaction—above and beyond what's been detected in standard ACE2 binding assays—is curious. It's not clear why LP.8.1's ACE2 affinity is higher than preceding variants. None of its individual mutations are known ACE2-increasers, so there must be epistasis at work here. 3/4
February 28, 2025 at 12:11 PM
The increased ACE2 interaction—above and beyond what's been detected in standard ACE2 binding assays—is curious. It's not clear why LP.8.1's ACE2 affinity is higher than preceding variants. None of its individual mutations are known ACE2-increasers, so there must be epistasis at work here. 3/4
„Für mich sind die Schäden und die Infektion im Gehirn unter dem Mikroskop direkt sichtbar. Wir sehen, dass #SARSCoV2 fast alle Zelltypen im Gehirn infiziert. Wir entdecken Neuronen und Gliazellen, die viele Ace2-Rezeptoren enthalten und beobachten, wie das Spike-Protein 🟣 ) …
#COVID19 #LongCovid
#COVID19 #LongCovid
May 4, 2024 at 5:19 PM
„Für mich sind die Schäden und die Infektion im Gehirn unter dem Mikroskop direkt sichtbar. Wir sehen, dass #SARSCoV2 fast alle Zelltypen im Gehirn infiziert. Wir entdecken Neuronen und Gliazellen, die viele Ace2-Rezeptoren enthalten und beobachten, wie das Spike-Protein 🟣 ) …
#COVID19 #LongCovid
#COVID19 #LongCovid