Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) is a protein found in virtually all of our organs, which has come into our recent focus for being the receptor target for SARS-2-CoV, the virus which causes COVID-19 in lung tissue. The spike protein on SARS-2-CoV’s shell interacts with ACE-2 in order to infiltrate our bodies. However, the makeup of ACE-2 can change from person to person, having the same function but slightly different shapes. This project is to investigate how these different shapes can have a different outcome on a person infected with coronavirus and can help discover if these different shapes or structures are why some people get high viral load and develop symptoms and some do not.
