Smoking Products Suppress Type I IFN During SARS-Cov-2 Infection

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which can lead to the development severe pneumonia. While some hospital data shows a positive correlation between smoking and severe pneumonia, more molecular-level mechanisms need to be determined. The previous study investigates the mechanism of the negative effect of smoking on anti-viral infection on Type I interferons (IFNs). Research has shown that Type I IFNs play an important role in defending against SARS-Cov-2. Here, we want to investigate smoking components’ effects on SARS-CoV-2 at the molecular level in vitro and give some ideas on the correlation between smoking and syndrome.