Year: 2020
Type: review
Abstract: Covid-19 is a recently-emerged infectious disease caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus SARS-CoV2. SARS-CoV2 differs from previous coronavirus infections (SARS and MERS) due to its high infectivity (reproduction value, R0, typically 2-4) and pre- or asymptomatic transmission, properties that have contributed to the current global Covid-19 pandemic. Identified risk factors for disease severity and death from SARS-Cov2 infection include older age, male sex, diabetes, obesity and hypertension. The reasons for these associations are still largely obscure. Evidence is also emerging that SARS-CoV2 infection exacerbates the underlying pathophysiology of hyperglycemia in people with diabetes. Here, we discuss potential mechanisms through which diabetes may affect the risk of more severe outcomes in Covid-19 and, additionally, how diabetic emergencies and longer term pathology may be aggravated by infection with the virus. We consider roles for the immune system, the observed phenomenon of microangiopathy in severe Covid-19 infection and the potential for direct viral toxicity on metabolically-relevant tissues including pancreatic beta cells and targets of insulin action.
Source: Frontiers in Endocrinology
Institutions: Imperial College London, Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
Subfield: Infectious Diseases
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,950
Funders: Wellcome Trust, European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Diabetes UK, Academy of Medical Sciences, European Commission, Innovative Medicines Initiative, Medical Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Awards: G130968091, G1335979935, Genetic and nutritional control of pancreatic beta cell identity., G1937207371, Roles of GWA genes in controlling pancreatic beta cell function and mass., G2040450235, G2400843396, Role of mitochondrial calcium transport in the regulation of insulin secretion, G434337789, Assessing risk and progression of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes to enable disease modification - Sofia ref.: 115881, G4426574518, G4781795914, Ligand bias at the GLP-1 receptor as a means of favouring cytoprotection, G5482254092, G5673545276, G5877155211, The impact of long non-coding RNA at the Pax6 locus on beta cell identity and function, G6133425169, Defining the molecular and physiological mechanisms of pancreatic islet dysfunction which lead to type 2 diabetes, Role and regulation of GLP-1 receptor trafficking in pancreatic beta cells, Targeting GLP-1 receptor trafficking to improve therapies for type 2 diabetes, Coordination and Advancement of sub-Saharan Africa-EU Science & Technology Cooperation Network, G7005210393, Understanding pancreatic beta cell connectivity, Molecular mechanisms linking Sorcin to pancreatic beta cell lipotoxicity and ER Ca2+ stores., G7328074751, Determining the role of arcuate nucleus glucokinase in the regulation of glucose homeostasis, G7571465722, Roles of the type 2 diabetes (T2D)-associated gene C2cd4a in regulating glucose homeostasis in the mouse, G9000168923
OpenAlex ID: W3092368369