Gupta I, Sohail MU, Elzawawi KE, Amarah AH, Vranic S, Al-Asmakh M, Al Moustafa AE. SARS-CoV-2 infection and smoking: What is the association? A brief review.
Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2021;
19:1654-60. [PMID:
33777332 DOI:
10.1016/j.csbj.2021.03.023]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Revised: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/20/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The link between smoking and the expression of SARS-CoV-2 key entry genes is discussed.
Smoking-related cardiac and respiratory diseases are risk factors for COVID-19.
The impact of smoking on ACE-2 and TMPRSS2 receptors expression is controversial.
Susceptibility to severe illness from COVID-19 is anticipated to be associated with cigarette smoking as it aggravates the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory illness, including infections. This is particularly important with the advent of a new strain of coronaviruses, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that has led to the present pandemic, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although, the effects of smoking on COVID-19 are less described and controversial, we presume a link between smoking and COVID-19. Smoking has been shown to enhance the expression of the angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE-2) and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) key entry genes utilized by SARS-CoV-2 to infect cells and induce a ‘cytokine storm’, which further increases the severity of COVID-19 clinical course. Nevertheless, the impact of smoking on ACE-2 and TMPRSS2 receptors expression remains paradoxical. Thus, further research is necessary to unravel the association between smoking and COVID-19 and to pursue the development of potential novel therapies that are able to constrain the morbidity and mortality provoked by this infectious disease. Herein we present a brief overview of the current knowledge on the correlation between smoking and the expression of SARS-CoV-2 key entry genes, clinical manifestations, and disease progression.
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