Tobacco Use and the Risk of Suffering from COVID-19

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic and is confirmed worldwide to cause a high mortality rates; as of the April 23, 2020, over 189,000 deaths have occurred in 2,700,800 COVID-19 cases. However, it appears that little consideration has been given to smokers and the users of tobacco-related products relative to the impact of the virus on that particular cohort of patients. AIM: The aim of the study was to commence a narrative review of research and academic articles of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) prevalence related to cigarette smoking and the consumption of tobacco-related products. METHODS: The study involved evidence-based publication searches on ProQuest and EBSCOhost databases informed by a number of keywords. The additional data were obtained from relevant journals searched manually, as well as following up references or primary articles. The search was conducted from April 23 to 24, 2020, adopting the use of several terms, such as “tobacco use” AND “COVID”, “tobacco use” AND “SARS-CoV-2”, “smokers” AND “COVID”, “cigarette” AND “SARS-CoV-2”, and “tobacco use” AND COVID-19 AND sars-cov-2. RESULTS: Several studies (n = 8) confirmed that conventional smoking and electronic cigarette use correlated with the decline of the human immune system and the feasibility of infection. The second group of evidence (n = 9) explored higher Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 among smokers, as the binding sites of SARS-COV-2. CONCLUSION: Tobacco use among smokers and former smokers is significantly correlated to the decline in the status of the human immune system and worsen the disease prognosis. In addition, smoking status is associated with a greater likelihood of smokers being infected with SARS-COV-2; a condition that can further develop into coronavirus disease.

Download Full-text

Climate change and the human immune system: Ultraviolet radiation & immunity study, assessing the impact of ultraviolet radiation on the immune response to primary vaccination in Australian adults

IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science ◽

10.1088/1755-1307/6/14/142033 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 6 (14) ◽

pp. 142033

Author(s):

Ashwin Swaminathan ◽

R Lucas ◽

M Cook ◽

K Dear ◽

A J McMichael

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Immune Response ◽

Immune System ◽

Ultraviolet Radiation ◽

Primary Vaccination ◽

Human Immune System ◽

Human Immune ◽

The Impact

Download Full-text

Sunlight Effects on Immune System: Is There Something Else in addition to UV-Induced Immunosuppression?

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2016/1934518 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

D. H. González Maglio ◽

M. L. Paz ◽

J. Leoni

Keyword(s):

Immune System ◽

Suppressive Effect ◽

Bone Homeostasis ◽

Human Immune System ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Skin Cells ◽

New Information ◽

Human Immune ◽

Life On Earth ◽

The Impact

Sunlight, composed of different types of radiation, including ultraviolet wavelengths, is an essential source of light and warmth for life on earth but has strong negative effects on human health, such as promoting the malignant transformation of skin cells and suppressing the ability of the human immune system to efficiently detect and attack malignant cells. UV-induced immunosuppression has been extensively studied since it was first described by Dr. Kripke and Dr. Fisher in the late 1970s. However, skin exposure to sunlight has not only this and other unfavorable effects, for example, mutagenesis and carcinogenesis, but also a positive one: the induction of Vitamin D synthesis, which performs several roles within the immune system in addition to favoring bone homeostasis. The impact of low levels of UV exposure on the immune system has not been fully reported yet, but it bears interesting differences with the suppressive effect of high levels of UV radiation, as shown by some recent studies. The aim of this article is to put some ideas in perspective and pose some questions within the field of photoimmunology based on established and new information, which may lead to new experimental approaches and, eventually, to a better understanding of the effects of sunlight on the human immune system.

Download Full-text

COVID-19: human immune response and the influence of food ingredients and active compounds

Bioactive Compounds in Health and Disease ◽

10.31989/bchd.v4i6.802 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (6) ◽

pp. 100

Author(s):

Raphael Ayivi ◽

Salam Ibrahim ◽

Heather Colleran ◽

Roberta Silva ◽

Leonard Williams ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune Response ◽

Immune System ◽

Viral Infections ◽

Critical Element ◽

Human Immune System ◽

Active Compounds ◽

Food Ingredients ◽

Influence Of Food ◽

Human Immune ◽

The Impact

The human immune system is the first line of defense in the prevention of viruses and diseases, and several immune response mechanisms are engaged at the onset of a pathogenic attack. In this review, we elucidate the human immune system as a critical element in protecting humans from COVID-19 by describing the immune process, explaining how the immune system functions, and highlighting the immune system’s global importance in fighting infections. Potential challenges that limit the proper functioning of the immune system are also discussed. In addition, we address the impact of nutrition on boosting the body’s defenses against COVID-19. For example, some foods and active compounds from food ingredients have been suggested as a way to strengthen the immune system. Physical exercise has also been encouraged as an important way to support the immune response to viral infections. The aim of this review is thus to outline holistic self-defense immunity mechanisms that can help to reduce the risk of viral infections in humans. This review could therefore be used as a comprehensive resource for educating consumers and the general public about measures that can enhance the body’s immune support system as we continue to fight COVID-19 and its variants.Keywords: Immunity, Covid-19 COVID-19, Nutrition, Bioactive compounds, Food Ingredients

Download Full-text

The Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the Human Immune System and Microbiome

Infectious Microbes and Diseases ◽

10.1097/im9.0000000000000045 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol Publish Ahead of Print ◽

Author(s):

Chuxi Wang ◽

Xin Zhou ◽

Meng Wang ◽

Xin Chen

Keyword(s):

Immune System ◽

Human Immune System ◽

Human Immune ◽

The Impact

Download Full-text

Identification of age and ethnicity specific gene expression biomarkers for immune aging

10.1101/2021.02.22.432179 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yang Hu ◽

Yudai Xu ◽

Lipeng Mao ◽

Wen Lei ◽

Jian Xiang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Immune System ◽

Mononuclear Cells ◽

Specific Gene ◽

Human Immune System ◽

Peripheral Blood Mononuclear ◽

Network Analyses ◽

Age Related ◽

Human Immune ◽

The Impact

ABSTRACTHuman immune system functions over an entire lifetime, yet how and why the immune system becomes less effective with age are not well understood. Here, we characterize peripheral blood mononuclear cells transcriptome from 172 healthy adults with 21~90 years of age using RNA-seq and the weighted gene correlation network analyses (WGCNA). These data reveal a set of insightful gene expression modules and representative gene biomarkers for human immune system aging from Asian and Caucasian ancestry, respectively. Among them, the aging-specific modules show an age-related gene expression variation spike around early-seventies. In addition, it is not known whether Asian and Caucasian immune systems go through similar gene expression changes throughout their lifespan, and to what extent these aging-associated changes are shared among ethnicities. We find the top hub genes including NUDT7, CLPB, OXNAD1 and MLLT3 are shared between Asian and Caucasian aging related modules and further validated in human PBMCs from different age groups. Overall, the impact of age and race on transcriptional variation elucidated from this study provide insights into the transcriptional driver of immune aging.

Download Full-text

Modeling market barriers based on artificial immune system

Forestry Engineering Journal ◽

10.12737/2208 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 223-231

Author(s):

Степанов ◽

Leonid Stepanov ◽

Сербулов ◽

Yuriy Serbulov ◽

Глухов ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune System ◽

Artificial Immune System ◽

Artificial Immune ◽

Human Immune System ◽

Mathematical Methods ◽

Human Immune ◽

The Impact

The article considers the artificial immune system, which is a complex of mathematical methods to model the main functions of the human immune system, and used to determine the parameters and (or) their values which can minimize the impact of certain factors (ex-ternal or internal) to any object. If such a system is functioning as the "observer", its antibodies correspond to the properties of a competitor. Then "interesting" competitors are those whose properties correspond to the antibodies of the immune system. Signal "danger" arises. It is important that an understanding of "interesting" competitor can promptly adapt to such changes.

Download Full-text

Faculty Opinions recommendation of The genetic architecture of the human immune system: a bioresource for autoimmunity and disease pathogenesis.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.725390605.793505391 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Toshihiro Nakajima ◽

Satoko Aratani

Keyword(s):

Immune System ◽

Genetic Architecture ◽

Human Immune System ◽

Disease Pathogenesis ◽

System A ◽

Human Immune

Download Full-text

721 AT1412, a patient-derived CD9 antibody in preclinical development promoting tumor immune infiltration and inducing tumor rejection

Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer ◽

10.1136/jitc-2020-sitc2020.0721 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (Suppl 3) ◽

pp. A763-A763

Author(s):

Remko Schotte ◽

Julien Villaudy ◽

Martijn Kedde ◽

Wouter Pos ◽

Daniel Go ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cells ◽

Immune System ◽

T Cell ◽

Tumor Cells ◽

Tumor Rejection ◽

Human Immune System ◽

Preclinical Development ◽

High Affinity ◽

Human Immune ◽

A375 Melanoma

BackgroundAdaptive immunity to cancer cells forms a crucial part of cancer immunotherapy. Recently, the importance of tumor B-cell signatures were shown to correlate with melanoma survival. We investigated whether tumor-targeting antibodies could be isolated from a patient that cured (now 13 years tumor-free) metastatic melanoma following adoptive transfer of ex vivo expanded autologous T cells.MethodsPatient‘s peripheral blood B cells were isolated and tested for the presence of tumor-reactive B cells using AIMM’s immmortalisation technology. Antibody AT1412 was identified by virtue of its differential binding to melanoma cells as compared to healthy melanocytes. AT1412 binds the tetraspanin CD9, a broadly expressed protein involved in multiple cellular activities in cancer and induces ADCC and ADCP by effector cells.ResultsSpontaneous immune rejection of tumors was observed in human immune system (HIS) mouse models implanted with CD9 genetically-disrupted A375 melanoma (A375-CD9KO) tumor cells, while A375wt cells were not cleared. Most notably, no tumor rejection of A375-CD9KO tumors was observed in NSG mice, indicating that blockade of CD9 makes tumor cells susceptible to immune rejection.CD9 has been described to regulate integrin signaling, e.g. LFA-1, VLA-4, VCAM-1 and ICAM-1. AT1412 was shown to modulate CD9 function by enhancing adhesion and transmigration of T cells to endothelial (HUVEC) cells. AT1412 was most potently enhancing transendothelial T-cell migration, in contrast to a high affinity version of AT1412 or other high affinity anti-CD9 reference antibodies (e.g. ALB6). Enhanced immune cell infiltration is also observed in immunodeficient mice harbouring a human immune system (HIS). AT1412 strongly enhanced CD8 T-cell and macrophage infiltration resulting in tumor rejection (A375 melanoma). PD-1 checkpoint blockade is further sustaining this effect. In a second melanoma model carrying a PD-1 resistant and highly aggressive tumor (SK-MEL5) AT1412 together with nivolumab was inducing full tumor rejection, while either one of the antibodies alone did not.ConclusionsThe safety of AT1412 has been assessed in preclinical development and is well tolerated up to 10 mg/kg (highest dose tested) by non human primates. AT1412 demonstrated a half-life of 8.5 days, supporting 2–3 weekly administration in humans. Besides transient thrombocytopenia no other pathological deviations were observed. No effect on coagulation parameters, bruising or bleeding were observed macro- or microscopically. The thrombocytopenia is reversible, and its recovery accelerated in those animals developing anti-drug antibodies. First in Human clinical study is planned to start early 2021.Ethics ApprovalStudy protocols were approved by the Medical Ethical Committee of the Leiden University Medical Center (Leiden, Netherlands).ConsentBlood was obtained after written informed consent by the patient.

Download Full-text