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Cited by 845

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ACE-2 expression in the small airway epithelia of smokers and COPD patients: implications for COVID-19

Open access
Leung, Janice M., Yang, Chen X., Tam, Anthony, Shaipanich, Tawimas, Hackett, Tillie-Louise, Singhera, Gurpreet K., Dorscheid, Delbert R., Sin, Don D.·2020·European Respiratory Journal

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory infection caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). This virus uses the angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE-2) as the cellular entry receptor to infect the lower respiratory tract. Because individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are at increased risk of severe COVID-19, we determined whether ACE-2 expression in the lower airways was related to COPD and cigarette smoking. Methods Using RNA-seq, we determined gene expression levels in bronchial epithelia obtained from cytologic brushings of 6 th to 8 th generation airways in individuals with and without COPD. We eternally validated these results from two additional independent cohorts, which used microarray technologies to measure gene expression levels from 6 th to 12 th generation airways. Results In the discovery cohort (n=42 participants), we found that ACE-2 expression levels were increased by 48% in the airways of COPD compared with non-COPD subjects (COPD=2.52±0.66 log2 counts per million reads (CPM) versus non-COPD= 1.70±0.51 CPM, p=7.62×10 −4 ). There was a significant inverse relationship between ACE-2 gene expression and FEV1% of predicted (r=-0.24; p=0.035). Current smoking also significantly increased ACE-2 expression levels compared with never smokers (never current smokers=2.77±0.91 CPM versus smokers=1.78±0.39 CPM, p=0.024). These findings were replicated in the two eternal cohorts. Conclusions ACE-2 expression in lower airways is increased in patients with COPD and with current smoking. These data suggest that these two subgroups are at increased risk of serious COVID-19 infection and highlight the importance of smoking cessation in reducing the risk.

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Metadata

Authors
Leung, J. M., Yang, C. X., Tam, A., Shaipanich, T., Hackett, T.-L., Singhera, G. K., Dorscheid, D. R., & Sin, D. D.
Venue
European Respiratory Journal
Published
2020-04-08
Volume
55
Issue
5
Pages
2000688
ISSN
  • 0903-1936 (ISSN-L)
  • 1399-3003
OpenAlex
W3015660580
Cited by
845
References
6
FWCI
22.79
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
hybrid

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: ACE-2 expression in the small airway epithelia of smokers and COPD patients: implications for COVID-19. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1183/13993003.00688-2020
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Leung, J. M., Yang, C. X., Tam, A., Shaipanich, T., Hackett, T.-L., Singhera, G. K., Dorscheid, D. R., & Sin, D. D. (2020). ACE-2 expression in the small airway epithelia of smokers and COPD patients: implications for COVID-19. European Respiratory Journal. https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.00688-2020

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