Background: Obesity increases the severity of SARS-CoV-2 outcomes. Thus, this study tested whether obesogenic and ketogenic diets distinctly affect SARS-CoV-2 entry proteins and the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in rat pulmonary and cardiac tissues. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either standard chow (SC), a high-fat sucrose-enriched diet (HFS), or a ketogenic diet (KD) for 16 weeks. Afterwards, levels of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2), RAS components, and inflammatory genes were measured in the lungs and hearts of these animals. Results: In the lungs, HFS elevated ACE2 and TMPRSS2 levels relative to SC diet, whereas the KD lowered the levels of these proteins and the gene expressions of toll-like receptor 4 and interleukin-6 receptor relative to HFS. The diets did not alter ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in the heart, although ACE2 was more abundant in heart than lung tissues. Conclusion: Diet-induced obesity increased the levels of viral entry proteins in the lungs, providing a mechanism whereby SARS-CoV-2 infectivity can be enhanced in obese individuals. Conversely, by maintaining low levels of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 and by exerting an anti-inflammatory effect, the KD can potentially attenuate the severity of infection and migration of SARS-CoV-2 to other ACE2-expressing tissues.
【저자키워드】 Inflammation, TLR4, obesity, IL6, ketones, TNF-alpha, MasR, TMPRSS2, 【초록키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, ACE2, Gene Expression, obesity, severity, angiotensin converting enzyme 2, interleukin-6, lung, protease, angiotensin converting enzyme, viral entry, RAS, Toll-like receptor, renin-angiotensin system, outcomes, Protein, Migration, Viral, heart, Lungs, toll-like receptor 4, transmembrane protease serine 2, mechanism, interleukin-6 receptor, angiotensin, sucrose, Ketogenic Diets, Ketogenic diet, Renin, Serine, tissues, enzyme, SARS-CoV-2 entry, components, obese, transmembrane, Severity of infection, anti-inflammatory effect, lung tissues, hearts, inflammatory genes, TMPRSS2 levels, serine 2, Affect, Alter, TMPRSS2 level, tested, elevated, increase, individuals, were measured, attenuate, inflammatory gene, ketogenic, obesogenic, 【제목키워드】 ACE2, diet, RAT, System, the SARS-CoV-2,