Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ORF3a induces the expression of ACE2 in oral and pulmonary epithelial cells and the food supplement Vita Deyun® diminishes this effect

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ORF3a induces the expression of <em>ACE2</em> in oral and pulmonary epithelial cells and the food supplement Vita Deyun<sup>®</sup> diminishes this effect Via Experimental and therapeutic medicine Exp Ther Med. 2021 May;21(5):485. doi: 10.3892/etm.2021.9916. Epub 2021 Mar 16. ABSTRACT The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has become a serious global health problem and numerous studies are currently being conducted to improve understanding of the components of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, as well as to identify solutions that mitigate the effects of COVID-19 symptoms. The nutritional supplement Vita Deyun® is composed of silymarin, glutathione, vitamin C and selenium. Studies of its individual components have demonstrated their benefits as anti-inflammatory agents, antioxidants and enhancers of the immune response. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the in vitro effects of Vita Deyun on the expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in diverse cell lines, as well as in the presence or absence of the SARS-CoV-2 open reading frame (ORF)3a protein. Through reverse transcription-quantitative PCR, the use of viral particles containing SARS-CoV-2 ORF3a and bioinformatics analysis via the National Center for Biotechnology Information databases, ACE2 was determined to be highly expressed in oral and skin epithelial cells, with a lower expression observed in lung cells. Notably, the expression of SARS-CoV-2 ORF3a increased the level of ACE2 expression and Vita Deyun treatment diminished this effect. In addition, Vita Deyun treatment markedly decreased interleukin-18 mRNA levels. The combination of phytonutrients in Vita Deyun may help to boost the immune system and could reduce the effects of COVID-19. Ongoing clinical studies are required to provide evidence of the efficacy of Vita Deyun. PMID:33790994 | PMC:PMC8005676 | DOI:10.3892/etm.2021.9916 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.