Angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) may play an important role in cardiorenal disease and it has also been implicated as a cellular receptor for the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus. The ACE2 active-site model and its crystal structure, which was solved recently, highlighted key differences between ACE2 and its counterpart angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), which are responsible for their differing substrate and inhibitor sensitivities.