Figure 2.

Pharmacological modulation of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor (ACE2R) pathway and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-induced human lung microvascular endothelial cell (HMVEC) permeability. (A1 and A2) Representative example of ACE2 agonist (Diminazene aceturate [DMZ] 20 μM; green) and ACE inhibitor (ACEi) effect (20 μM; claret red) on the transendothelial resistance and area under the curve (AUC) of HMVECs treated simultaneously with ACE2 agonists/antagonists and live SARS-CoV-2 (multiplicity of infection [MOI] of 1; orange) infection. (B) The stabilizing effects of DMZ on permeability induced by LPS (1 μg/ml). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 by two-tailed Mann-Whitney U test (AUC LPS vs. LPS + DMZ).