tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Cell Death Dis
. 2023 Feb 1;14(2):75.
doi: 10.1038/s41419-023-05574-w.
SARS-CoV-2 infection induces persistent adipose tissue damage in aged golden Syrian hamsters
Gemma Bogard[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 1 [/SUP], Johanna Barthelemy[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 1 [/SUP], Aline Hantute-Ghesquier[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Valentin Sencio[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Patricia Brito-Rodrigues[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Karin Séron[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Cyril Robil[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Anne Flourens[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Florence Pinet[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Delphine Eberlé[SUP] 4 [/SUP], François Trottein[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Martine Duterque-Coquillaud[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Isabelle Wolowczuk[SUP] 5 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)) is primarily a respiratory illness. However, various extrapulmonary manifestations have been reported in patients with severe forms of COVID-19. Notably, SARS-CoV-2 was shown to directly trigger white adipose tissue (WAT) dysfunction, which in turn drives insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and other adverse outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Although advanced age is the greatest risk factor for COVID-19 severity, published data on the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on WAT in aged individuals are scarce. Here, we characterized the response of subcutaneous and visceral WAT depots to SARS-CoV-2 infection in young adult and aged golden hamsters. In both age groups, infection was associated with a decrease in adipocyte size in the two WAT depots; this effect was partly due to changes in tissue's lipid metabolism and persisted for longer in aged hamsters than in young-adult hamsters. In contrast, only the subcutaneous WAT depot contained crown-like structures (CLSs) in which dead adipocytes were surrounded by SARS-CoV-2-infected macrophages, some of them forming syncytial multinucleated cells. Importantly, older age predisposed to a unique manifestation of viral disease in the subcutaneous WAT depot during SARS-CoV-2 infection; the persistence of very large CLSs was indicative of an age-associated defect in the clearance of dead adipocytes by macrophages. Moreover, we uncovered age-related differences in plasma lipid profiles during SARS-CoV-2 infection. These data suggest that the WAT's abnormal response to SARS-CoV-2 infection may contribute to the greater severity of COVID-19 observed in elderly patients.
. 2023 Feb 1;14(2):75.
doi: 10.1038/s41419-023-05574-w.
SARS-CoV-2 infection induces persistent adipose tissue damage in aged golden Syrian hamsters
Gemma Bogard[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 1 [/SUP], Johanna Barthelemy[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 1 [/SUP], Aline Hantute-Ghesquier[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Valentin Sencio[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Patricia Brito-Rodrigues[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Karin Séron[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Cyril Robil[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Anne Flourens[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Florence Pinet[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Delphine Eberlé[SUP] 4 [/SUP], François Trottein[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Martine Duterque-Coquillaud[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Isabelle Wolowczuk[SUP] 5 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 36725844
- DOI: 10.1038/s41419-023-05574-w
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)) is primarily a respiratory illness. However, various extrapulmonary manifestations have been reported in patients with severe forms of COVID-19. Notably, SARS-CoV-2 was shown to directly trigger white adipose tissue (WAT) dysfunction, which in turn drives insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and other adverse outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Although advanced age is the greatest risk factor for COVID-19 severity, published data on the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on WAT in aged individuals are scarce. Here, we characterized the response of subcutaneous and visceral WAT depots to SARS-CoV-2 infection in young adult and aged golden hamsters. In both age groups, infection was associated with a decrease in adipocyte size in the two WAT depots; this effect was partly due to changes in tissue's lipid metabolism and persisted for longer in aged hamsters than in young-adult hamsters. In contrast, only the subcutaneous WAT depot contained crown-like structures (CLSs) in which dead adipocytes were surrounded by SARS-CoV-2-infected macrophages, some of them forming syncytial multinucleated cells. Importantly, older age predisposed to a unique manifestation of viral disease in the subcutaneous WAT depot during SARS-CoV-2 infection; the persistence of very large CLSs was indicative of an age-associated defect in the clearance of dead adipocytes by macrophages. Moreover, we uncovered age-related differences in plasma lipid profiles during SARS-CoV-2 infection. These data suggest that the WAT's abnormal response to SARS-CoV-2 infection may contribute to the greater severity of COVID-19 observed in elderly patients.