How nicotine can inhibit cytokine storm in the lungs and prevent or lessen the severity of COVID-19 infection?

Malgorzata Kloc; Rafik M Ghobrial; Jacek Z Kubiak

doi:10.1016/j.imlet.2020.06.002

How nicotine can inhibit cytokine storm in the lungs and prevent or lessen the severity of COVID-19 infection?

Immunol Lett. 2020 Aug:224:28-29. doi: 10.1016/j.imlet.2020.06.002. Epub 2020 Jun 6.

Authors

Malgorzata Kloc¹, Rafik M Ghobrial², Jacek Z Kubiak³

Affiliations

¹ The Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas 77030, USA; The Houston Methodist Hospital, Department of Surgery, Houston, Texas, USA; The University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Genetics, Houston Texas, USA. Electronic address: mkloc@houstonmethodist.org.
² The Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas 77030, USA; The Houston Methodist Hospital, Department of Surgery, Houston, Texas, USA.
³ Laboratory of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology, Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (WIHE), Warsaw, Poland; UnivRennes, UMR 6290, CNRS, Institute of Genetics and Development of Rennes, Cell Cycle Group, Faculty of Medicine, Rennes, France. Electronic address: jacek.kubiak@univ-rennes1.fr.

Abstract

Statistical surveys of COVID-19 patients indicate, against all common logic, that people who smoke are less prone to the infection and/or exhibit less severe respiratory symptoms than non-smokers. This suggests that nicotine may have some preventive or modulatory effect on the inflammatory response in the lungs. Because it is known that the response to, and resolution of the SARS-CoV-2 infection depends mainly on the lung macrophages, we discuss the recent scientific findings, which may explain why and how nicotine may modulate lung macrophage response during COVID-19 infection.

Keywords: Acute respiratory distress syndrome - ARDS; COVID-19; Cytokine storm; Cytokines; Inflammation; Lungs; Macrophages; Nicotine; SARS-CoV-2; α4/α7 Nicotinic Ach receptors - nAChRs.

Publication types

Letter

MeSH terms

Administration, Inhalation
Anti-Inflammatory Agents / administration & dosage*
Betacoronavirus / drug effects
Betacoronavirus / pathogenicity*
COVID-19
Coronavirus Infections / diagnosis
Coronavirus Infections / immunology
Coronavirus Infections / prevention & control*
Coronavirus Infections / virology
Cytokine Release Syndrome / diagnosis
Cytokine Release Syndrome / immunology
Cytokine Release Syndrome / prevention & control*
Cytokine Release Syndrome / virology
Cytokines / immunology*
Host-Pathogen Interactions
Humans
Lung / drug effects*
Lung / immunology
Lung / virology
Macrophages / drug effects
Macrophages / immunology
Macrophages / virology
Nicotine / administration & dosage*
Nicotinic Agonists / administration & dosage*
Pandemics / prevention & control*
Pneumonia, Viral / diagnosis
Pneumonia, Viral / immunology
Pneumonia, Viral / prevention & control*
Pneumonia, Viral / virology
Protective Factors
Receptors, Nicotinic / drug effects
Receptors, Nicotinic / immunology
Risk Factors
SARS-CoV-2
Severity of Illness Index
Smokers*
alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor / agonists
alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor / immunology

Substances

Anti-Inflammatory Agents
Chrna7 protein, human
Cytokines
Nicotinic Agonists
Receptors, Nicotinic
alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor
nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alpha4 subunit
Nicotine