April 23, 2020 / Andrea Anderson, Genomeweb
In the months since SARS-CoV-2 emerged and began spreading, researchers have been attempting to collect new data to understand the virus and disease it causes.
But they have also been digging into sequence and gene expression data that was originally generated for other purposes to go beyond what is known about the virus and try to fill in some of the many remaining unknowns. 
In particular, several teams started trying to untangle SARS-CoV-2 infection susceptibility and symptoms by studying ACE2, a gene that codes for the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. That cell surface protein, which has been studied in the context of blood pressure regulation, heart disease, and other conditions, is well known for acting as a receptor for the original SARS coronavirus (known as SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1).
In 2003, for example, researchers at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and other centers in Massachusetts demonstrated that the “S1” domain of the SARS-CoV spike protein binds to ACE2, using the enzyme as a receptor as it wrangles its way into human cells.