ArticleParticle and fibre toxicology2021
Upregulation of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 by particulate matter and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a potential role in severe COVID-19.
Article in Particle and fibre toxicology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of air pollution on COVID-19 severity: a systematic review of underlying biological mechanisms.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of air pollutants on the incidence, progression, and mortality of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Environmental exposure to air pollution and climate: Intersecting the impact on ear and nose health and chemosensory function (Review).International journal of molecular medicine · 2026Review
- A case-crossover analysis of short-term PMCommunications medicine · 2025Article
- Clinical impacts of COVID-19 on severe exacerbation and mortality in interstitial lung disease: prognosis 30 days after infection.The Korean journal of internal medicine · 2025Article
- Independent and combined effects of long-term air pollution exposure and genetic predisposition on COVID-19 severity: A population-based cohort study.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Identifying Exifone as a Dual-Target Agent Targeting Both SARS-CoV-2 3CL Protease and the ACE2/S-RBD Interaction Among Clinical Polyphenolic Compounds.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 Entry Genes in Skeletal Muscle and Impacts of In Vitro Versus In Vivo Infection.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2025Article
- Chitosan Nanoparticle-EncapsulatedInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Resolving the Structure of a Guanine Quadruplex in TMPRSS2 Messenger RNA by Circular Dichroism and Molecular Modeling.Chemistry (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) · 2024Article
- The role of epithelial-mesenchymal transition in pulmonary fibrosis: lessons from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and COVID-19.Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2024Review
- Natural and socio-environmental factors in the transmission of COVID-19: a comprehensive analysis of epidemiology and mechanisms.BMC public health · 2024Review
- Correlation between Exposure to UFP and ACE/ACE2 Pathway: Looking for Possible Involvement in COVID-19 Pandemic.Toxics · 2024Article
- Expression patterns of lncRNA MALAT-1 in SARS-COV-2 infection and its potential effect on disease severity via miR-200c-3p and SIRT1.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2023Article
- PM2.5 promotes lung cancer progression through activation of the AhR-TMPRSS2-IL18 pathway.EMBO molecular medicine · 2023Article
- Role of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme-2 and its modulation in disease: exploring new frontiers.Medicine and pharmacy reports · 2023Review
- Review
- Effects of Air Pollution on Chemosensory Dysfunction in COVID-19 Patients.Journal of Korean medical science · 2022Article
- On virus and nanomaterials - Lessons learned from the innate immune system - ACE activation in the invertebrate model Enchytraeus crypticus.Journal of hazardous materials · 2022Article
- The association of airborne particulate matter and benzo[a]pyrene with the clinical course of COVID-19 in patients hospitalized in Poland.Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAir pollution exposure and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) cause a poor prognosis after SARS-CoV-2 infection, but the underlying mechanisms are not well explored. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) are the keys to the entry of SARS-CoV-2. We therefore hypothesized that air pollution exposure and IPF may increase the expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in the lung alveolar region. We measured their expression levels in lung tissues of control non-IPF and IPF patients, and used murine animal models to study the deterioration of IPF caused by particulate matter (PM) and the molecular pathways involved in the expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2.
resultsIn non-IPF patients, cells expressing ACE2 and TMPRSS2 were limited to human alveolar cells. ACE2 and TMPRSS2 were largely upregulated in IPF patients, and were co-expressed by fibroblast specific protein 1 (FSP-1) + lung fibroblasts in human pulmonary fibrotic tissue. In animal models, PM exposure increased the severity of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. ACE2 and TMPRSS2 were also expressed in FSP-1+ lung fibroblasts in bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis, and when combined with PM exposure, they were further upregulated. The severity of pulmonary fibrosis and the expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 caused by PM exposure were blocked by deletion of KC, a murine homologue of IL-8, or treatment with reparixin, an inhibitor of IL-8 receptors CXCR1/2.
conclusionsThese data suggested that risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease severity increased by air pollution exposure and underlying IPF. It can be mediated through upregulating ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in pulmonary fibroblasts, and prevented by blocking the IL-8/CXCR1/2 pathway.
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