What is the role of the ACE and ACE receptors?

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It has been confirmed that the SARS-CoV-2 uses the same receptor of the SARS-CoV,

the angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE2). Both SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 bind to ACE2 through the RBD of spike protein, and in order 3D structural analysis indicated that the spike of SARS-CoV-2 has a higher binding affinity to ACE2 than SARS-CoV.[ref]

ACE2 mRNA is highly expressed in renal, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal tissues ACE2 is abundantly present in humans in the epithelia of the lung and small intestine, which might provide possible routes of entry for the SARS-CoV. This epithelial expression, together with the presence of ACE2 in vascular endothelium, also provides a first step in understanding the pathogenesis of the main SARS disease manifestations.