Key result
Obesity, diabetes, and ACE2 deficiency exacerbate SARS-CoV-2 morbidity, pulmonary infection, and cardiac signaling disruptions.
Metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes increase susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 and exacerbate multiorgan dysfunction—including impaired cardiac signaling—partly through ACE2-associated immunologic, metabolic, and gut microbial dysregulation.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is ubiquitously expressed and contributes to cardiovascular, metabolic, and gastrointestinal homeostasis. In this study, we observed ACE2 loss in organs of patients with COVID-19 and in SARS-CoV-2-infected cells. In aged, obese, and diabetic mice, SARS-CoV-2 infection caused greater morbidity, persistent pulmonary infection, intestinal and metabolic disruption, and impaired cardiac Wnt and interferon-γ signaling. ACE2-deficient obese-diabetic mice showed cardiovascular, intestinal, metabolic, and neurobehavioral abnormalities, providing a complementary model to examine ACE2-associated disruption in metabolic disease. Exploratory metabolic profiling identified shared disruptions in taurine, tryptophan, and microbiota-derived metabolites across clinical and preclinical samples. These findings identify metabolic disease as a modifier of SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and support ACE2-associated dysregulation as one contributor to selected infection-related sequelae.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Gheblawi et al. (2026) studied COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 infection), obesity, and diabetes. Obesity, diabetes, and ACE2 deficiency was evaluated on SARS-CoV-2 morbidity, persistent pulmonary infection, intestinal and metabolic disruption, and cardiac Wnt/interferon-γ signaling. Obesity, diabetes, and ACE2 deficiency increased SARS-CoV-2 morbidity, pulmonary infection, and metabolic, intestinal, and cardiac signaling disruptions in clinical and preclinical models.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: