We have known for some time that the visceral adipose tissue plays an important role regarding the metabolic syndrome and type2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM); however, the finding that ACE2 staining is even higher in adipose tissue than in the pulmonary tissue brings new concepts to mind regarding the SARS-CoV-2 binding and result in acute and chronic inflammation from adipose tissue depots in relation to COVID-19. We now are beginning to observe that there are some individuals that have recovered from COVID-19 PANDEMIC that are continuing to suffer from lingering symptoms. This suggests that some of the acute manifestations of COVID-19 may not resolve and are continuing post recovery from the acute stages of this infectious disease and persist in the chronic recovery stages of this disease [1].
Carfì A, Bernabei R, Landi F. Persistent Symptoms in Patients After Acute COVID-19. Gemelli Against COVID-19 Post-Acute Care Study Group. JAMA. 2020 Jul 9:e2012603. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.12603
The SARS-CoV-2 viral infection may be perceived as an injury and the response to injury healing mechanisms will be brought into action in an attempt to (i) destroy the invading injurious pathogen; (ii) to respond to this injury in a response to injury mechanism as in all tissues in the body; (iii) remodel, repair, resolve and recover from this highly contagious and acute viral disease, which sometimes takes months to resolve especially if the initial injury was more severe. Additionally, chronic diseases often become stuck in the inflammatory stages of wound healing and this might well be worse in those with chronic inflammation that may persist in the adipose tissue depots and especially in those with the metabolic syndrome and
T2DM.
Please feel free to comment and interact with this question.
Melvin R Hayden, MD
University of Missouri School of Medicine
Columbia, Missouri USA
Adipose tissue and COVID-19 Severity
May be this article will help you understand the relationship of adipose tissue and interaction with COVID-19 regarding morbidity and mortality.
Article Coronavirus and Obesity: Could Insulin Resistance Mediate th...
Dear Professor Yousuf,
Thank you very much for sharing and it does help especially the role of the
metabolic syndrome and the central role of insulin resisitance and how it plays into this underlying problem with obesity as a central driver of the metabolic syndrome.
