The Covid virus attacks all organs: heart, lungs, intestine, brain, genitals, etc. The common point between all these pathologies is the renin-angiotensin system. Explanations with Jean-Marc Sabatier.
In a scientific article published in April 2020, Jean-Marc Sabatier* and his collaborators made a fundamental discovery. They have highlighted the key role of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in Covid diseases.
The scientists explain that ALL the deleterious effects associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans, i.e. nervous disorders/headaches, difficulty breathing, heart problems, loss of smell (anosmia), loss of taste (agueusia), thrombosis, diarrhea, dermatitis, etc., are dependent on the RAS overreaction induced by SARS-CoV-2 and vitamin D deficiency.
What is the RAS?
The RAS is the most important physiological regulatory system in our body, controlling renal, pulmonary and cardiovascular autonomic functions. It also controls innate immunity and the various microbiota (including the gut microbiota), and regulates water-salt homeostasis. The RAS also controls the release of neurotransmitters and hormones (acetylcholine, dopamine, vasopressin, and others) and the production of NO which directly affects brain activity (actions on inflammation, immunity and memory phenomena). It is a cascade of endocrine and enzymatic regulation.
This ubiquitous system is found in all organs and tissues of the human body and particularly in the lungs, kidneys, intestines, heart, pancreas, adrenal glands, brain, hypothalamo-hypophyseal complex, eyes, hearing system, spleen, liver, skin, testicles, uterus, ovaries, blood vessels, as well as in the cells of the “innate” immune system (circulating monocytes, macrophages, dendritic/antigen-presenting cells, granulocytes, mast cells, Natural Killer Cells). The RAS controls “innate” immunity (immediate “nonspecific” response to pathogens) and microbiota (gut, mouth, vagina), the eyes and the auditory system…
Avenues for treatment
Therefore, explain the authors of the study, “leads for potential Covid-19 treatments would be: First, to address vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency in patients, second, to target the “renin-angiotensin” system to select (or design) effective chemotherapeutic drug candidates.
Overall, it is clear that the RAS and vitamin D play a key role in SARS-CoV-2 infection of humans and associated Covid-19 diseases.
These data are crucial in the field, as they directly impact drug and vaccine developments against this coronavirus.” It is notable that RAS inhibitors (vitamin D, quercetin, melatonin, dexamethasone, thymoquinone, etc.) could in parallel play a central role in the prevention and/or treatment of various pathologies (autoimmune diseases, cancer, neurological disorders, pre-eclampsia, etc.).
*Jean-Marc Sabatier, Director of Research at the CNRS and Doctor in Cell Biology and Microbiology, HDR in Biochemistry. Editor-in-Chief of the international scientific journals: “Coronaviruses” and “Infectious Disorders – Drug Targets”. He speaks here in his own name.