ArticleeLife2021
Mendelian randomization analysis provides causality of smoking on the expression of ACE2, a putative SARS-CoV-2 receptor.
Article in eLife, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Micronutrients, Vitamin D, and Inflammatory Biomarkers in COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Causal Inference Studies.Nutrition reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Polymorphisms and mutations of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 genes are associated with COVID-19: a systematic review.European journal of medical research · 2022Pooled it
- Cigarette smoking and SARS-CoV-2 infection: multivariable regression and Mendelian randomization analyses in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Identification of key gut microbiota and microbial QTL in contributing to the significant differences in body weight between two Chinese local chicken breeds.Animal genetics · 2026Article
- Assessing the Causal Association Between COVID-19 and Graves Disease: Mendelian Randomization Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- BMI and Cardiometabolic Traits in Japanese: A Mendelian Randomization Study.Journal of epidemiology · 2024Article
- Article
- Nicotine exposure decreases likelihood of SARS-CoV-2 RNA expression and neuropathology in the hACE2 mouse brain but not moribundity.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Review
- Does ACE2 mediate the detrimental effect of exposures related to COVID-19 risk: A Mendelian randomization investigation.Journal of medical virology · 2023Article
- Substance use and common contributors to morbidity: A genetics perspective.EBioMedicine · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Background: To understand a causal role of modifiable lifestyle factors in angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) expression (a putative severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2] receptor) across 44 human tissues/organs, and in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) susceptibility and severity, we conducted a phenome-wide two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study. Methods: More than 500 genetic variants were used as instrumental variables to predict smoking and alcohol consumption. Inverse-variance weighted approach was adopted as the primary method to estimate a causal association, while MR-Egger regression, weighted median, and MR pleiotropy residual sum and outlier (MR-PRESSO) were performed to identify potential horizontal pleiotropy. Results: We found that genetically predicted smoking intensity significantly increased ACE2 expression in thyroid (β=1.468, p=1.8×10 Conclusions: Our work demonstrates an important role of smoking, measured by both status and intensity, in the susceptibility to COVID-19. Funding: XJ is supported by research grants from the Swedish Research Council (VR-2018-02247) and Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (FORTE-2020-00884).
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.