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Increased ACE2 Expression in Bronchial Epithelium of COPD Patients who are Overweight
Author(s) -
Higham Andrew,
Singh Dave
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.438
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1930-739X
pISSN - 1930-7381
DOI - 10.1002/oby.22907
Subject(s) - overweight , medicine , copd , respiratory tract , respiratory system , coronavirus , angiotensin converting enzyme 2 , respiratory disease , obesity , covid-19 , disease , gastroenterology , lung , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Objective Mortality from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is increased in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Furthermore, higher BMI is related to severe disease. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 utilizes angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to gain cellular entry. Methods Whether ACE2 bronchial epithelial expression is increased in COPD patients who have overweight compared with those who do not was investigated by RNA sequencing. Results Increased ACE2 expression was observed in patients with COPD with overweight (mean BMI, 29 kg/m 2 ) compared with those without overweight (mean BMI, 21 kg/m 2 ) ( P = 0.004). Conclusions Increased ACE2 expression may cause increased severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection of the respiratory tract. Overweight COPD patients may be at greater risk for developing severe COVID‐19.