Elevated soluble ACE2 activity in children and adults after SARS‐CoV‐2 exposure irrespective of laboratory‐confirmed infection

Abstract: The pivotal role of the cell entry receptor ACE2 for SARS-CoV-2 infection is well-established. When ACE2 is shed from cell surface into plasma as soluble ACE2 (sACE2), it can effectively neutralize SARS-CoV-2. This longitudinal prospective cohort study analyzed sACE2 activity in 1192 participants, aged 4 months to 81 years, 3 and 12 months after SARS-CoV-2 household exposure. Following SARS-CoV-2 exposure, participants exhibited significantly elevated sACE2 activity, irrespective of confirmed infection, with the highest levels observed in exposed children. Longitudinal analysis revealed a decline in sACE2 levels over time, reaching levels comparable to age- and sex-matched pre-pandemic controls. An increase in sACE2 activity was also confirmed in vitro in Calu-3 (human lung) cells within hours of SARS-CoV-2 exposure, providing a direct link between SARS-CoV-2 exposure and elevated sACE2. This study, therefore, challenges the dichotomy of categorizing SARS-CoV-2 exposed participants as infected or not infected solely on currently established diagnostic assays. It demonstrates lasting host responses independent of B- and T-cell memory and may help to keep SARS-CoV-2 infections in balance and contribute to successful virus clearance in children and adults lacking humoral and cellular immune responses following SARS-CoV-2 exposure

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: Journal of medical virology. - 96, 12 (2024) , e70098, ISSN: 1096-9071

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (where): Freiburg
• (who): Universität
• (when): 2024
• Creator: Stich, Maximilian ; Gonçalves Magalhães, Vladimir ; Bürger, Friederike ; Garbade, Sven ; Jeltsch, Kathrin ; Mohr, Kerstin ; Haddad, Anneke ; Elling, Roland ; Lang, Peter ; Rabsteyn, Armin ; Jacobsen, Eva-Maria ; Bode, Sebastian Felix Nepomuk ; Müller, Barbara ; Kräusslich, Hans-Georg ; Hoffmann, Georg F. ; Okun, Jürgen G. ; Bartenschlager, Ralf ; Binder, Marco ; Janda, Ales̆ ; Renk, Hanna ; Tönshoff, Burkhard

Further information

• DOI: 10.1002/jmv.70098
• URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:25-freidok-2606105
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:20 AM CEST