Interestingly, there is no association of ASM activity with values of troponin I in patients as a surrogate for damage of myocardial tissue (p=0.3365), thus the serum abundant ASM activity in COVID-19 is proposed to be released from epithelial tissue of the affected lungs as previously described in asthma (96, 97) and acute respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis (98). This evidence concerns the gene SMPD1 and asthma.