Inflammation and intussusceptive angiogenesis in COVID-19: everything in and out of flow

[摘要] The human body contains 60 000 miles of blood vessels, including at least 19 billion capillaries, so that under physiological conditions cells are located no further than 100–200 μm from the nearest capillary. In those, endothelial cells and pericytes seem to play a pivotal role in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by binding severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) [1, 2]. In the lung, the transmembrane ACE2 receptor is predominantly expressed in endothelial cells, perivascular pericytes and type 2 cells [2, 3].

[学科分类] 呼吸医学