Angiotensin Peptide Turnover and Flux in COVID-19 Pathogenesis

illustration of coronavirus rna structure

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, uses the angiotensin hormone pathway to infect the lung.

Led by Peter Crawford, MD, PhD, professor of medicine, and biochemistry, molecular biology, and biophysics; and Tim Griffin, PhD, professor of biochemistry, molecular biology, and biophysics; this study fills an unmet need by directly quantifying the responses of the angiotensin pathway in COVID-19 pathogenesis.

“Our objective is to execute through a staged approach: to develop a high resolution, highly quantitative assay for angiotensin peptides in mouse plasma, and then to transition the assay to human plasma samples derived from COVID-19 clinical trials,” said Crawford.

This project is supported by the UMN Campus Public Health Officer's CO:VID (Collaborative Outcomes: Visionary Innovation & Discovery) grants program, which support University of Minnesota faculty to catalyze and energize small-scale research projects designed to address and mitigate the COVID-19 virus and its associated risks.