Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) plays a central role in vascular, renal, and myocardial physiology. In contrast to its homolog ACE, ACE2 expression is restricted to heart, kidney, and testis. Recently. ACE2 has also been shown to be a functional receptor of the SARS coronavirus. The normal function of ACE2 is to convert the inactive vasoconstrictor angiotensin I (AngI) to Ang1-9 and the active form AngII to Ang1-7, unlike ACE, which converts AngI to AngII. While the role of these vasoactive peptides is not well understood, lack of ACE2 expression in ace2-/ace2- mice leads to severely reduced cardiac contractility, indicating its importance in regulating heart function.
