Molecular Impact of Nicotine on COVID-19
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 March 2025 | Viewed by 67
Special Issue Editor
2. Clinical and Molecular Epidemiology, IRCCS San Raffaele Roma, Via di Val Cannuta 247, 00166 Rome, Italy
Interests: DNA damage; nicotine and nicotinic receptor; COVID-19; respiratory disease; toeque teno virus
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Despite the controversial findings of epidemiological studies regarding the impact of cigarette smoking on SARS-CoV-2 infection, a recent thorough review indicates that current and former smokers face a 30–50% higher risk of progressing to severe COVID-19 (encompassing both severity and mortality) compared to those who have never smoked. Consequently, smokers are more susceptible to developing serious illness after contracting SARS-CoV-2 than non-smokers, with a greater chance of hospitalization, ICU admission, and death. Furthermore, there is evidence that other tobacco products, including electronic nicotine delivery systems, might affect the incidence or progression of COVID-19.
The mechanisms linking cigarette smoking, and possibly nicotine, which is the psychoactive component of smoking, to more severe disease may involve (a) the upregulation of ACE2 receptors, (b) immune suppression, (c) oxidative stress, (d) inflammation, and (e) vascular damage. Smoking increases the likelihood of developing chronic lung disease, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, all of which are associated with worse outcomes in individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2.
Recent amino acid sequence analyses and computational methods have suggested that nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) might serve as additional SARS-CoV-2 plasma membrane receptors by allowing the virus’ spike protein to bind at a site overlapping with the orthosteric, ACh-binding sites. However, based on experimental ligand-binding competition assays, it has been concluded that the mutual exclusivity of SARS-CoV-2 and cholinergic ligands binding to the human α7-AChR is unlikely to be a significant factor in this complex disease.
Further research is required to determine the impact of nicotine on the risk of developing severe COVID-19.
The objective of this Special Issue is to clarify the role of nicotine in SARS-CoV-2, with an emphasis on the following:
- Molecular and cellular mechanisms related to its effects on immune and inflammatory responses to SARS-CoV-2;
- The role of nAChRs and nAChR variants;
- Genes and pathways targeted by nicotine within the respiratory tract that may impact SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or resulting COVID-19 severity;
- The impact of nicotine on long COVID.
Prof. Dr. Patrizia Russo
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- SARS-CoV-2 infection
- COVID-19
- nicotine
- immune and inflammatory responses
- nAChRs
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.
