April 1, 2020

Cigarette smoke triggers the expansion of a subpopulation of respiratory epithelial cells that express the SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Clinical Characteristics and Health Care Setting

• Smith and Sheltzer report that cigarette smoke triggers a protective expansion of mucus-secreting goblet cells and the expansion of a subpopulation of respiratory epithelial cells that express the SARS-CoV-2 receptor; Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2). These results may partially explain why smokers are particularly likely to develop severe SARS-CoV-2 infections, and suggest that quitting smoking could lessen coronavirus susceptibility.

Smith and Sheltzer. (Mar 30, 2020). Cigarette smoke triggers the expansion of a subpopulation of respiratory epithelial cells that express the SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2. Pre-print downloaded Apr 1 from https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.28.013672