Upregulation of inflammatory genes and pathways links obesity to severe COVID-19.

ABSTRACT: Obesity is a risk factor for developing severe COVID-19. However, the mechanism underlying obesity-accelerated COVID-19 remains unclear. Here, we report results from a study in which 2-3-month-old K18-hACE2 (K18) mice were fed a western high-fat diet (WD) or normal chow (NC) over 3 months before intranasal infection with a sublethal dose of SARS-CoV2 WA1 (a strain ancestral to the Wuhan variant). After infection, the WD-fed K18 mice lost significantly more body weight and had more severe lung inflammation than normal chow (NC)-fed mice. Bulk RNA-seq analysis of lungs and adipose tissue revealed a diverse landscape of various immune cells, inflammatory markers, and pathways upregulated in the infected WD-fed K18 mice when compared with the infected NC-fed control mice. The transcript levels

SUBMITTER: Currey J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11330358 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature