The C-terminal cleavage of angiotensin II and III is mediated by prolyl carboxypeptidase in human umbilical vein and aortic endothelial cells

COVID-19, vaccines and deficiency of ACE2 and other angiotensinases. Closing the loop on the "Spike effect"

“…Interestingly, other angiotensinases (POP and PRCP) participate in the angiotensin cleavage pathway, sharing substrate specificity with ACE 2 , the entrance receptor for SARS-CoV-2 [63] .…”

“…POP and PRCP, are involved in blood pressure (BP) regulation and inflammatory pathways, which are both disturbed in COVID-19 [ 21 , 62 , 63 ]. Bracke and co-workers specifically studied whether the specific plasma activities of these peptidases are dysregulated in COVID-19 patients at the time of hospital admission or during their hospital stay [64] .…”

Proline-specific peptidase activities (DPP4, PRCP, FAP and PREP) in plasma of hospitalized COVID-19 patients

“…PRCP is mostly studied for its role in metabolic disorders like obesity and diabetes because it is involved in the cleavage of the neuropeptide α-MSH 1-13 and the adipokine (pyr)-apelin-13 [29] , [30] . Interestingly, both PREP and PRCP participate in the angiotensin cleavage pathway, sharing substrate specificity with Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the entrance receptor for SARS-CoV-2 [31] . PREP and PRCP along with ACE2 can generate Angiotensin 1-7 (Ang(1-7)) from Angiotensin II (Ang II).…”

“…A significant discrimination between septic shock patients and an intensive care unit (ICU) control group could be made, which makes these proline-specific peptidases potential diagnostic and/or prognostic biomarkers in sepsis and septic shock. This was not surprising because two of these enzymes, PREP and PRCP, are involved in blood pressure regulation [26] , [31] and inflammatory pathways [3] , which are both disturbed in sepsis. Septic shock is defined as a subset of sepsis in which underlying circulatory and cellular metabolism abnormalities are profound enough to substantially increase mortality.…”

The spike effect of acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines on blood pressure

“…Notably, Ang II is directly involved in BP regulation and inflammatory pathways (which are both disturbed in COVID-19 [58] , [59] , [60] ), and the imbalance between Ang II and Ang 1-7 can directly contribute to development of high BP in the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection [19] .…”