Unit 3

The COVID-19 disease

This is a new curriculum. We are refining the materials and teaching support according to teacher feedback. If you have any questions or comments, please use the contact form on the Get Help page and we will respond promptly. Thanks for your patience and understanding!

Lesson 3.1

How does SARS-CoV-2 cause disease?

This lesson focuses on how SARS-CoV-2 infects cells by attaching to its ACE2 receptor, the important role that ACE2 normally plays in homeostasis, and what happens when SARS-CoV-2 interferes with that function.


Lesson Objectives

By the end of the lesson, you will be able to…

  • Explain the role of epithelial cells in SARS-CoV-2 infections.
  • Describe the peptides and enzymes in the angiotensin converting system and predict symptoms based on alterations in the levels of the system’s components.
  • Explain ACE2 levels in aging and disease and how this might affect SARS-CoV-2 symptoms and outcomes.

3.11 Where viral infections cause symptoms (8 slides)

How can we account for the symptoms that viral infection causes? In this short introductory section, you’ll review why different infections cause different symptoms.


3.12 The importance of epithelial cells in viral infections (9 slides)

The outside of the body is swarming with pathogens, while the inside is sterile. In this section, you’ll learn about how important epithelial cells are in forming a barrier to protect the inside from the outside.


3.13 How are epithelial cells infected with SARS-CoV-2? (12 slides)

Recall that the receptor for SARS-CoV-2 (and SARS-CoV-1) is called ACE2. Here you’ll learn where ACE2 is located and why it’s important, as well as what happens when SARS-CoV-2 infects epithelial cells.


3.14 How does ACE2 affect homeostasis? (23 slides)

You’ve learned that SARS-CoV-2’s receptor, ACE2, is located throughout the body, and plays a critical role in homeostasis. How? Here you’ll explore how ACE2 works, and what goes wrong when it’s inactivated.


3.15 How does SARS-CoV-2 affect ACE2? (24 slides)

ACE2 is critically important for blood pressure homeostasis, but what happens after SARS-CoV-2 infection? Here you’ll learn about how SARS-CoV-2 inactivates ACE2, and what happens if an infection occurs when ACE2 is already not working properly.


3.16 Why controlling Angiotensin II is important (18 slides)

In this section, you’ll learn about how drugs have been used to control the high levels of Angiotensin II found in disease. You’ll consider and answer the question: “If I’m taking these drugs, am I more likely to have a bad outcome in COVID-19?”


3.17 Vocab review


3.18 Apply your new knowledge!
Read the following news article about ACE2’s role in COVID-19 and answer the questions on your reading worksheet.
The link is here.


Documents

3.18 Reading worksheet

Lesson 3.2

Lesson 3.3