ACE2

Scientists at The Australian National University are a step closer to understanding the rare Hartnup disorder after discovering a surprising link between blood pressure regulation and nutrition that could also help to shed light on intestinal and kidney function.
The team from the University's School of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology together with colleagues from the University of Sydney set out to study nutrient uptake in the intestine and discovered an essential role of a protein called ACE2 in the process.
Two versions of the protein are known as ACE1 and ACE2. ACE1 is targeted by the blood pressure reducing drugs, but until now the role of ACE2 has been less clear. What the researchers found was a completely different role for ACE2 in nutrition.
"Protein forms up to 20 percent of our nutrition," said one of the authors of the report, Professor Stefan Bröer. "Amino acids are removed from the intestine by specialised cells which are endowed with a large number of transporters moving nutrients from the intestine into cell.
"Instead of tailoring a specific hormone, ACE2 cuts into proteins releasing amino acids from the intestine into cells. Additionally, we found that ACE2 was also important to endow the cell with transporters" he said.
The research shows that a failure of certain transporters to make contact with ACE2 can cause Hartnup disorder - where amino acid absorption in the intestine is impaired resulting in neurological problems and a skin rash in children.