Figure 8.

The promoter of ACE2 is activated by RNA‐sensing pathways and inflammatory cytokine stimulation. A, Schematic diagram of the human ACE2 luciferase reporter. Nucleotides −1281 to +300 (with transcript start site set as 1) of the human ACE2 promoter region were cloned into the pGL3‐Basic luciferase reporter to construct ACE‐luc. B, Induction patterns of the human ACE2 promoter by RIG‐IN (a truncated active form of RIG‐I), MAVS, TRIF, and TBK1. HEK293T cells were transfected with plasmids containing the empty vector (EV), RIG‐IN, MAVS, TRIF, or TBK1 together with ACE‐luc. C, The promoter activities of ACE2 was induced by recombinant protein of IFN‐α (10 ng/mL), IFN‐β (10 ng/mL), IFN‐γ (10 ng/mL), TNF‐α (10 ng/mL), IL‐6 (10 ng/mL), IL‐1α (10 ng/mL), or IL‐1β (10 ng/mL). The graphs show the means ± SD (n = 3). The results in each panel are representative of three independent experiments. ACE2, angiotensin‐converting enzyme 2; IFN, interferon