Comparative analysis of SARS-CoV-2 and its receptor ACE2 with evolutionarily related coronaviruses

To the Editor,The current pandemic COVID-19 is rapidly spreading worldwide.This disease is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2; previously called 2019-nCoV), seriously threatening the human health [1].Since december 12, 2019, when the first patient was confirmed [2], more than 20 million cases have been confirmed, with over 740,000 deaths globally.Due to the rapidly increasing numbers of confirmed cases and deaths of COVID-19, the WHO has raised the risk of spread and impact of this disease to a very high level [1, 2].Coronaviruses, first described from the common cold patients in 1966, are enveloped positive single-stranded RNA nuclear viruses, which can infect a large variety of host species including humans [3,4].SARS-CoV-2 is a www.aging-us.com