Dipeptidylpeptidase (DPP)-4 is a key regulator of the incretin system. For several years DPP-4 inhibitors in addition to GLP-1 analogues are of major importance in the clinical management of obesity and type 2 diabetes. DPP-4 is also known as CD26 and represents a membrane bound protease on the surface of several eukaryotic cell types. Of interest, DPP-4, like ACE2, has been shown to serve as a binding partner for corona-like viruses to enter host immune cells. Since metabolic diseases are major risk factors for the present COVID-19 pandemic, we examined circulating soluble DPP-4 serum concentrations in patients suffering from severe COVID-19 infection and in healthy human subjects in a case control design. In this analysis sDPP-4 levels were significantly lower in COVID-19 patients compared to controls (242.70 ± 202.12 ng/mL versus 497.70 ± 188.13 ng/mL, p = 0.02). We also examined sDPP-4 serum concentrations in patients suffering from sepsis not due to corona-like viruses. In these subjects, sDPP-4 levels were not different compared to healthy case controls (p = 0.14), which might suggest the decrease of sDPP-4 to be specific for corona-like virus infections. Currently, most data point towards membrane bound ACE2 in contrast to DPP-4 as the major binding partner for COVID-19 internalization into host immune cells. However, the finding that the circulating soluble form of DPP-4 is reduced in hospitalized patients might suggest a regulatory role for both, ACE and DPP-4, in COVID-19 infections, especially since obesity and type 2 diabetes are major risk factor for a severe course of the disease
【저자키워드】 Risk factors, obesity, type 2 diabetes, Enzymes, 【초록키워드】 COVID-19, viruses, ACE2, COVID-19 pandemic, Sepsis, protease, risk factor, virus, Regulatory, serum, infections, metabolic disease, Patient, Control, Clinical management, membrane, immune cells, inhibitor, binding, Concentration, Analysis, ACE, COVID-19 patient, cell types, Severe COVID-19 Infection, subject, COVID-19 infections, circulating, CD26, significantly lower, analogue, Host, decrease, Course, shown, examined, healthy, addition, the disease, reduced, subjects, hospitalized patient, not different, eukaryotic, type 2 diabete, 【제목키워드】 Hospitalized, Severe COVID-19 Infection, subject, reduced,