Role of Microparticles in Covid-19 Infection

Among the distinctive features of Covid-19, numerous reports have stressed the importance of vascular damages associated with coagulopathy onset. Microparticles (MPs) shed by apoptotic/stimulated cells are reliable markers of vascular damage released upon pro-inflammatory conditions and behave as active participants in the early steps of clot formation. In addition, MPs carry ACE1 and ACE2, the cell-entry receptor for SARS-Cov2 in the vasculature and up-regulate ACE1 expression in neighbouring endothelial cells. This may contribute to unopposed angiotensin II accumulation which further exacerbate tissue injury and promote both inflammation and thrombosis. The aim of the study is to evaluate the impact of circulating MPs on ACE2 expression, the cell-entry receptor for SARS-Cov2 on endothelial cells.