Missense variants in ACE2 affect SARS-CoV-2 Spike binding and could contribute to genetic risk in Covid-19 - Poster at ISMB Madison 2022

This poster, presented at ISMB 2022 in Madison in the 3D-Sig COSI, explores the influence of ACE2 variants on the binding of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein, thereby impacting the susceptibility to Covid-19. It showcases the findings on how certain ACE2 alleles exhibit inhibited binding to Spike, while others show moderately increased affinity. By comparing our results to recent infectivity studies, we hypothesize that the affinity ranges of ACE2 variants can protect cells from infection, which suggests that certain alleles might confer resistance to their carriers. This is currently being tested with clinical data. The poster also examines the strengths and limitations of current predictive models, and presents new findings on the interaction between ACE2 variants and different strains of SARS-CoV-2.