Frontiers in Microbiology (Nov 2022)

Leukocyte metabolism in obese type 2 diabetic individuals associated with COVID-19 severity

  • Tiago Bertola Lobato,
  • Matheus Gennari-Felipe,
  • Janaína Ribeiro Barbosa Pauferro,
  • Ilana Souza Correa,
  • Beatriz Ferreira Santos,
  • Beatriz Belmiro Dias,
  • João Carlos de Oliveira Borges,
  • Camila Soares dos Santos,
  • Elvirah Samantha de Sousa Santos,
  • Maria Janaína Leite de Araújo,
  • Liliane Araújo Ferreira,
  • Sara Araujo Pereira,
  • Tamires Duarte Afonso Serdan,
  • Adriana Cristina Levada-Pires,
  • Elaine Hatanaka,
  • Leandro Borges,
  • Maria Fernanda Cury-Boaventura,
  • Marco Aurélio Ramirez Vinolo,
  • Tania Cristina Pithon-Curi,
  • Laureane Nunes Masi,
  • Rui Curi,
  • Rui Curi,
  • Sandro Massao Hirabara,
  • Renata Gorjão

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.1037469
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13

Abstract

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Recent studies show that the metabolic characteristics of different leukocytes, such as, lymphocytes, neutrophils, and macrophages, undergo changes both in the face of infection with SARS-CoV-2 and in obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) condition. Thus, the objective of this review is to establish a correlation between the metabolic changes caused in leukocytes in DM2 and obesity that may favor a worse prognosis during SARS-Cov-2 infection. Chronic inflammation and hyperglycemia, specific and usual characteristics of obesity and DM2, contributes for the SARS-CoV-2 replication and metabolic disturbances in different leukocytes, favoring the proinflammatory response of these cells. Thus, obesity and DM2 are important risk factors for pro-inflammatory response and metabolic dysregulation that can favor the occurrence of the cytokine storm, implicated in the severity and high mortality risk of the COVID-19 in these patients.

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