The PhD dissertation defense of Raghed Ahmed Mohammed, a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the College of Medicine, Al-Nahrain University.
"Genetic and Kinetic Study of ACE2 Enzyme and FurinLevel in Patients with COVID-19 Infection Severity"
Determine the concentration of ACE2 in the serum of COVID-19 patients and compare it with a control group.
Assess the levels of Furin in the serum of COVID-19 patients and study its correlation with the severity of the infection.
Analyze the kinetic properties of the ACE2 enzyme to understand its relationship with COVID-19 severity.
Investigate the gene expression of the ACE2 enzyme in COVID-19 patients compared to a control group to understand its role in the progression of disease severity.
Serum ACE2 levels were significantly elevated in patients with severe COVID-19 cases compared to those with mild cases and the control group.
The study also revealed a significant increase in Furin concentration in patients with severe cases compared to mild cases, suggesting a potential role for this enzyme in exacerbating disease severity.
Additionally, elevated levels of platelets, white blood cells, and D-dimer were observed in severe cases, indicating the possibility of using these markers to assess disease severity.
Moreover, the gene expression of the ACE2 enzyme was significantly elevated in COVID-19 patients compared to the control group.
