Dynamic Regulation of SARS-Cov-2 Binding and Cell Entry Mechanisms in Remodeled Human Ventricular Myocardium

•The CoV-2 cellular receptor ACE2 and 5 proteases implicated in fusion of virus and cell membranes that are vital to cell entry were expressed at the mRNA level in RNA extracted from septal EmBx of patients with F/NDC and NF control patients.•ACE2 was up-regulated by 1.97 fold in 46 patients with F/NDC compared with NF control patients, but proteases showed similar degrees of expression.•On LV reverse remodeling effected by beta-blocking agents, ACE2 expression, in the presence of unchanged doses of ACE inhibitors or ARBs, down-regulated into the normal range.•ITGA5, which encodes an integrin that binds to ACE2 and to a motif in the CoV-2 spike protein binding domain, was expressed in both NF control subjects and subjects with F/NDC, was up-regulated in the latter at baseline, was decreased in expression on reverse remodeling similar to ACE2, and is a candidate for facilitating CoV-2 binding and cell entry in LV myocardium.