Enhanced expression of ACE2 in psoriatic skin and its upregulation in keratinocytes by interferon-gamma: Implication of inflammatory milieu in skin tropism of SARS-CoV-2.

Tembhre, M K; Parihar, A S; Sharma, V K; Imran, S; Bhari, N; Lakshmy, R; Bhalla, A

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a challenging situation globally due to its contagion nature. SARS-CoV-2 enters the host cell by interacting with the ACE2 (angiotensin converting enzyme 2) receptor present on cell surface through its receptor-binding domain (RBD) of spike protein (1). Host proteases mainly TMPRSS2 plays a vital role in cleaving the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein thereby enabling the virus to enter host cell via endocytosis. SARS-CoV-2 mainly affects the respiratory system of the infected host, however, its manifestation to other organs have also been reported (2).