{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,16]],"date-time":"2026-01-16T09:32:52Z","timestamp":1768555972498,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,31]],"date-time":"2024-05-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1717113600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001868","name":"National Science Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["112-2813-C-039-038-B"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["112-2813-C-039-038-B"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001868","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001868","name":"National Science Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["CMU112-SR-31"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CMU112-SR-31"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001868","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"China Medical University (CMU)","award":["112-2813-C-039-038-B"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["112-2813-C-039-038-B"]}]},{"name":"China Medical University (CMU)","award":["CMU112-SR-31"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CMU112-SR-31"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a global pandemic. Known as COVID-19, it has affected billions of people worldwide, claiming millions of lives and posing a continuing threat to humanity. This is considered one of the most extensive pandemics ever recorded in human history, causing significant losses to both life and economies globally. However, the available evidence is currently insufficient to establish the effectiveness and safety of antiviral drugs or vaccines. The entry of the virus into host cells involves binding to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a cell surface receptor, via its spike protein. Meanwhile, transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2), a host surface protease, cleaves and activates the virus\u2019s S protein, thus promoting viral infection. Plant protease inhibitors play a crucial role in protecting plants against insects and\/or microorganisms. The major storage proteins in sweet potato roots include sweet potato trypsin inhibitor (SWTI), which accounts for approximately 60% of the total water-soluble protein and has been found to possess a variety of health-promoting properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, ACE-inhibitory, and anticancer functions. Our study found that SWTI caused a significant reduction in the expression of the ACE2 and TMPRSS2 proteins, without any adverse effects on cells. Therefore, our findings suggest that the ACE2 and TMPRSS2 axis can be targeted via SWTI to potentially inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms25116067","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,31]],"date-time":"2024-05-31T06:35:32Z","timestamp":1717137332000},"page":"6067","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Viral Activity of Sweet Potato Trypsin Inhibitor via Downregulation of TMPRSS2 Activity and ACE2 Expression In Vitro and In Vivo"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"25","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9387-680X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wen-Ping","family":"Jiang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Tainan 717, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jeng-Shyan","family":"Deng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Nutrition and Healthy Biotechnology, Asia University, Taichung 413, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chia-Chen","family":"Yu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chinese Pharmaceutical Sciences and Chinese Medicine Resources, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 404, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jaung-Geng","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 404, Taiwan"},{"name":"Chinese Medicine Research Center, China Medical University, Taichung 404, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9822-3485","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Guan-Jhong","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Nutrition and Healthy Biotechnology, Asia University, Taichung 413, Taiwan"},{"name":"Department of Chinese Pharmaceutical Sciences and Chinese Medicine Resources, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 404, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"789","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(22)01840-2","article-title":"After 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic, translating One Health into action is urgent","volume":"401","author":"Malvy","year":"2023","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7448","DOI":"10.7150\/thno.48076","article-title":"SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and research gaps: Understanding SARS-CoV-2 interaction with the ACE2 receptor and implications for therapy","volume":"10","author":"Datta","year":"2020","journal-title":"Theranostics"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3251","DOI":"10.1007\/s10238-023-01038-9","article-title":"Genetic polymorphisms of ACE1, ACE2, IFTM3, TMPRSS2 and TNF\u03b1 genes associated with susceptibility and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"3","author":"Pecoraro","year":"2023","journal-title":"Clin. 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