Journal of molecular medicine : official organ of the "Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher und Ärzte"
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Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a second angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), regulates the renin-angiotensin system by counterbalancing ACE activity. Accumulating evidence in recent years has demonstrated a physiological and pathological role of ACE2 in the cardiovascular systems. ⋯ Intriguingly, ACE2 acts as a protective factor in various experimental models of acute lung failure and, therefore, acts not only as a key determinant for SARS virus entry into cells but also contributes to SARS pathogenesis. Here we review the role of ACE2 in disease pathogenesis, including lung diseases and cardiovascular diseases.
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The high prevalence of tuberculosis in developing countries and the recent resurgence of tuberculosis in many developed countries suggests that current control strategies are suboptimal. The increase in drug-resistant cases exacerbates the control problems. ⋯ We describe and discuss a theoretical framework based upon mathematical transmission models that can be used for understanding, predicting, and controlling tuberculosis epidemics. We illustrate how the theoretical framework can be used to predict the temporal dynamics of the emergence of drug resistance, to predict the epidemiological consequences of epidemic control strategies in developing and developed countries, and to design epidemic control strategies.