Introduction:

COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus is a pandemic that has claimed the lives of millions of people and overloaded health services around the world.

Objective:

To describe the relationship between the spike protein (S) of SARS-CoV-2 and the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 as the primary trigger of COVID-19 infection.

Method:

A bibliographic search was carried out in Google Scholar, SciELO and PubMed, with the initial descriptors COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2. The publication period selected was between the years 2019 to 2021, without restrictions regarding the type of article. The papers had to be available in full text in Spanish and English.

Results:

The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, which plays a key role in receptor recognition and in the cell membrane fusion process, is composed of two subunits, S1 and S2. The S1 subunit contains a receptor-binding domain (RBD) that binds to the host's receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, while the S2 subunit is involved in the viral and cellular membrane fusion. The tissue ubiquity of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 explains the multiple clinical manifestations of the disease.

Conclusions:

The knowledge of the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 and its receptor the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, allows not only to know the pathophysiology of COVID-19, but also the design of antiviral drugs and vaccines that contribute to the prevention and treatment of this viral disease.

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