Equivocating and Deliberating on the Probability of COVID-19 Infection Serving as a Risk Factor for Lung Cancer and Common Molecular Pathways Serving as a Link

The COVID-19 infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 in late 2019 posed unprecedented global health challenges of massive proportions. The persistent effects of COVID-19 have become a subject of significant concern amongst the medical and scientific community. This article aims to explore the probability of...

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Main Authors: Abdelbasset Amara, Saoussen Trabelsi, Abdul Hai, Syeda Huma H. Zaidi, Farah Siddiqui, Sami Alsaeed
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Pathogens
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/13/12/1070
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author Abdelbasset Amara
Saoussen Trabelsi
Abdul Hai
Syeda Huma H. Zaidi
Farah Siddiqui
Sami Alsaeed
author_facet Abdelbasset Amara
Saoussen Trabelsi
Abdul Hai
Syeda Huma H. Zaidi
Farah Siddiqui
Sami Alsaeed
author_sort Abdelbasset Amara
collection DOAJ
description The COVID-19 infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 in late 2019 posed unprecedented global health challenges of massive proportions. The persistent effects of COVID-19 have become a subject of significant concern amongst the medical and scientific community. This article aims to explore the probability of a link between the COVID-19 infection and the risk of lung cancer development. First, this article reports that SARS-CoV-2 induces severe inflammatory response and cellular stress, potentially leading to tumorigenesis through common pathways between SARS-CoV-2 infection and cancer. These pathways include the JAK/STAT3 pathway which is activated after the initiation of cytokine storm following SARS-CoV-2 infection. This pathway is involved in cellular proliferation, differentiation, and immune homeostasis. The JAK/STAT3 pathway is also hyperactivated in lung cancer which serves as a link thereof. It predisposes patients to lung cancer through myriad molecular mechanisms such as DNA damage, genomic instability, and cell cycle dysregulation. Another probable pathway to tumorigenesis is based on the possibility of an oncogenic nature of SARS-CoV-2 through hijacking the p53 protein, leading to cell oxidative stress and interfering with the DNA repair mechanisms. Finally, this article highlights the overexpression of the SLC22A18 gene in lung cancer. This gene can be overexpressed by the ZEB1 transcription factor, which was found to be highly expressed during COVID-19 infection.
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spelling doaj-art-e5bf1e0f0b854da8b01147ee8a2bc73d2025-08-20T02:01:20ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172024-12-011312107010.3390/pathogens13121070Equivocating and Deliberating on the Probability of COVID-19 Infection Serving as a Risk Factor for Lung Cancer and Common Molecular Pathways Serving as a LinkAbdelbasset Amara0Saoussen Trabelsi1Abdul Hai2Syeda Huma H. Zaidi3Farah Siddiqui4Sami Alsaeed5Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Northern Border University, Arar 91431, Saudi ArabiaCenter for Health Research, Northern Border University, Arar 91431, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Northern Border University, Arar 91431, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Northern Border University, Arar 91431, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Northern Border University, Arar 91431, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Northern Border University, Arar 91431, Saudi ArabiaThe COVID-19 infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 in late 2019 posed unprecedented global health challenges of massive proportions. The persistent effects of COVID-19 have become a subject of significant concern amongst the medical and scientific community. This article aims to explore the probability of a link between the COVID-19 infection and the risk of lung cancer development. First, this article reports that SARS-CoV-2 induces severe inflammatory response and cellular stress, potentially leading to tumorigenesis through common pathways between SARS-CoV-2 infection and cancer. These pathways include the JAK/STAT3 pathway which is activated after the initiation of cytokine storm following SARS-CoV-2 infection. This pathway is involved in cellular proliferation, differentiation, and immune homeostasis. The JAK/STAT3 pathway is also hyperactivated in lung cancer which serves as a link thereof. It predisposes patients to lung cancer through myriad molecular mechanisms such as DNA damage, genomic instability, and cell cycle dysregulation. Another probable pathway to tumorigenesis is based on the possibility of an oncogenic nature of SARS-CoV-2 through hijacking the p53 protein, leading to cell oxidative stress and interfering with the DNA repair mechanisms. Finally, this article highlights the overexpression of the SLC22A18 gene in lung cancer. This gene can be overexpressed by the ZEB1 transcription factor, which was found to be highly expressed during COVID-19 infection.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/13/12/1070SARS-CoV-2COVID-19 long-term effectlung cancerrisk factorpathway
spellingShingle Abdelbasset Amara
Saoussen Trabelsi
Abdul Hai
Syeda Huma H. Zaidi
Farah Siddiqui
Sami Alsaeed
Equivocating and Deliberating on the Probability of COVID-19 Infection Serving as a Risk Factor for Lung Cancer and Common Molecular Pathways Serving as a Link
Pathogens
SARS-CoV-2
COVID-19 long-term effect
lung cancer
risk factor
pathway
title Equivocating and Deliberating on the Probability of COVID-19 Infection Serving as a Risk Factor for Lung Cancer and Common Molecular Pathways Serving as a Link
title_full Equivocating and Deliberating on the Probability of COVID-19 Infection Serving as a Risk Factor for Lung Cancer and Common Molecular Pathways Serving as a Link
title_fullStr Equivocating and Deliberating on the Probability of COVID-19 Infection Serving as a Risk Factor for Lung Cancer and Common Molecular Pathways Serving as a Link
title_full_unstemmed Equivocating and Deliberating on the Probability of COVID-19 Infection Serving as a Risk Factor for Lung Cancer and Common Molecular Pathways Serving as a Link
title_short Equivocating and Deliberating on the Probability of COVID-19 Infection Serving as a Risk Factor for Lung Cancer and Common Molecular Pathways Serving as a Link
title_sort equivocating and deliberating on the probability of covid 19 infection serving as a risk factor for lung cancer and common molecular pathways serving as a link
topic SARS-CoV-2
COVID-19 long-term effect
lung cancer
risk factor
pathway
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/13/12/1070
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