Annals of the Russian academy of medical sciencesAnnals of the Russian academy of medical sciences0869-60472414-3545"Paediatrician" Publishers LLC134710.15690/vramn1347Research ArticleA new look at the COVID-19 pathogenesis: the disease is a generalized viral vasculitis, and the lung tissue damage is a variant of angiogenic pulmonary edemaKubanovAlexey A.<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">MD, PhD, Professor</span></p>kubanov@list.ruhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7625-0503DeryabinDmitry G.<p>MD, PhD, Professor</p>dgderyabin@yandex.ruhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2495-6694State Research Center of Dermatovenereology and Cosmetology180620207521151172204202025042020Copyright © 2020, "Paediatrician" Publishers LLC2020<p>Based on the data about angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as the main receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), hematogenous spread of the virus is hypothesized, followed by killing of ACE2-expressed cells in the microvessel walls. Damage to the blood vessels (primarily arterioles) leads to the development of microthromboses and results in the exit of the blood liquid phase in perivascular space, which is pathogenetically similar to the angiogenic edema development. In fact, this disorder is multi-organ in nature, and in the lung tissue its occur as pulmonary edema variant, the signs of which during CT scan precede predicts the development of severe respiratory failure. The hypothesized COVID-19 pathogenesis allows us to explain the causes and stages of occurrence of many symptoms of this disease. Possible changes in COVID-19 diagnostic and therapeutic protocols are discussed.</p>COVID-19angiotensin-converting enzyme 2pathogenesisCOVID-19ангиотензинпревращающий фермент 2патогенез[Cascella M, Rajnik M, Cuomo A, et al. Features, evaluation and treatment coronavirus (COVID-19). StatPearls [Internet]. 2020. Avalable from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK554776/.][Yi Y, Lagniton PN, Ye S, et al. COVID-19: what has been learned and to be learned about the novel coronavirus disease. Int J Biol Sci. 2020;16(10):1753–1766. doi: 10.7150/ijbs.45134.][Astuti I, Ysrafil. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): an overview of viral structure and host response. Diabetes Metab Syndr. 2020; 14(4):407–412. doi: 10.1016/j.dsx.2020.04.020.]