WEBINAR SERIES—COVID-19, Endotheliitis and Long-term Cardiovascular Effects

June 7, 2022
11 a.m. EDT

The association of COVID-19 and cardiovascular disease is thought to be due to endothelial cell inflammation. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) interactions with SARS-CoV-2 spike protein S1 subunit are important to viral infection. Augusto Montezano, PhD, of the University of Glasgow in Scotland, and his research team questioned whether SARS-CoV-2 induces vascular inflammation via ACE2, and whether this is related to viral infection. By exposing human microvascular endothelial cells to recombinant S1p (rS1p), the researchers observed that rS1p induces a potent inflammatory response via an ACE2-dependent manner without affecting ACE2 activity. During the webinar, Montezano will discuss his lab’s findings and their implications for the pathophysiology of COVID-19, associated vascular inflammation and the activation of ACE2-mediated pro-inflammatory signaling.

Speaker

Augusto Montezano, PhD, is an honorary research fellow affiliated with the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. He has numerous publications within his specialty and has published in reputed national and international peer-reviewed journals. Montezano’s research focuses on vascular calcification and osteogenic factors, and their relationship with vascular injury during hypertension.