id	author	title	date	pages	extension	mime	words	sentences	flesch	summary	cache	txt
cord-346441-b1r6i0wq	Polverino, Francesca	Cigarette Smoking and COVID-19: A Complex Interaction	2020-08-01		.txt	text/plain	895	53	48	These findings have putatively important implications for patients with COVID-19 because ACE2 has been shown to be the receptor used by SARS-CoV-2 to enter the host cells (3) and yet seem in contrast with the consolidated epidemiological data worldwide indicating a low prevalence of active smokers among patients with COVID-19. Last, though it is possible that cigarette smoke increases the ACE2 expression by the bronchial epithelium, thus facilitating the entry of SARS-CoV-2, this does not necessarily translate into a higher risk for developing COVID-19 pneumonia. To conclude, what is unchallengeable is that cigarette smoke is detrimental for the lungs in several ways, and further studies are needed to clarify the reasons behind the reported low prevalence of current smokers among hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Tobacco smoking increases the lung gene expression of ACE2, the receptor of SARS-CoV-2	./cache/cord-346441-b1r6i0wq.txt	./txt/cord-346441-b1r6i0wq.txt