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Background  The first step in SARS-CoV-2 infection is binding of the virus to angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) on the airway epithelium. Asthma affects over 300 million people world-wide, many of whom may encounter SARS-CoV-2. Epidemiologic data suggests that asthmatics who get infected may be at increased risk of more severe disease. Our objective was to assess whether maintenance inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), a major treatment for asthma, is associated with airway ACE2 expression in asthmatics.    Methods  Large airway epithelium (LAE) of asthmatics treated with maintenance ICS (ICS + ), asthmatics not treated with ICS (ICS − ), and healthy controls (controls) was analyzed for expression of ACE2 and other coronavirus infection-related genes using microarrays.    Results  As a group, there was no difference in LAE ACE2 expression in all asthmatics vs controls. In contrast, subgroup analysis demonstrated that LAE ACE2 expression was higher in asthmatics ICS +  compared to ICS‾ and ACE2 expression was higher in male ICS +  compared to female ICS +  and ICS‾ of either sex. ACE2 expression did not correlate with serum IgE, absolute eosinophil level, or change in FEV1 in response to bronchodilators in either ICS −  or ICS + .    Conclusion  Airway ACE2 expression is increased in asthmatics on long-term treatment with ICS, an observation that should be taken into consideration when assessing the use of inhaled corticosteroids during the pandemic.    Supplementary Information  The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12931-021-01782-0.

Up-regulation of ACE2, the SARS-CoV-2 receptor, in asthmatics on maintenance inhaled corticosteroids