Obesity (Silver Spring) Increased ACE2 Expression in the Bronchial Epithelium of COPD Patients Who Are Overweight

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Obesity (Silver Spring)


. 2020 May 19.
doi: 10.1002/oby.22907. Online ahead of print.
Increased ACE2 Expression in the Bronchial Epithelium of COPD Patients Who Are Overweight


Andrew Higham[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Dave Singh[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP]



Affiliations

• PMID: 32428380
• DOI: 10.1002/oby.22907

Abstract

Objective: Mortality from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is increased in COPD patients. Furthermore, higher body mass index (BMI) is related to severe disease. SARS-CoV-2 utilises angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to gain cellular entry.
Methods: We have investigated whether ACE2 bronchial epithelial expression is increased in COPD patients who are overweight compared to those who are not by RNA sequencing.
Results: We observed increased ACE2 expression in COPD patients who are overweight (mean BMI 29 kg/m[SUP]2[/SUP] ) compared to those notoverweight (mean BMI 21 kg/m[SUP]2[/SUP] ) (p=0.004).
Conclusion: Increased ACE2 expression may cause increased SARS-CoV-2 infection of the respiratory tract. COPD patients who are overweight may be at greater risk of developing severe COVID-19.

Keywords: ACE2; Bronchial Epithelium; COPD; COVID-19; Coronavirus; Obesity.