Intronic Variants of the Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 Gene Modulate Plasma ACE2 Levels and Possibly Confer Protection against Severe COVID-19

Figure 5

Boxplots showing the plasma ACE2 levels in individuals with WT and deletion variants of the 18T stretch. Individuals harboring deletion variants of the 18T stretch (T1del in blue, T2del in green, and T3del in purple) have lower plasma ACE2 levels, compared to the WT variant harboring individuals (shown in red). The black dots in each box represent the mean values. The black vertical lines indicate the range.