covid-19: Coronavirus, bacteria together can cause severity in some Covid patients

Houston: Severity COVID-19 (new coronavirus infection) (# If there is no character limit, add parentheses when it first appears People with obesity And diabetes may be explained by the combined effects of the novel Coronavirus According to a new study, the body’s natural community of bacteria-the microbial fauna-work together in the lungs.

Review studies published in journals eLifeCan assess the mechanism that links obesity and diabetes to COVID-19 and explain why the interaction of novel coronaviruses with existing bacterial conditions often requires hospitalization and ventilation in people with comorbidities. Suggested that there is sex.

“Evidence is rapidly emerging that all ethnic groups emphasize obesity and type 2 diabetes as the major risk factors associated with the severity of COVID-19 infection, but the detailed roots of these risk factors. The relationship is still largely unknown, “said the research co-author. Philip Scheller From Southwestern Medical Center, University of Texas, USA.

“There is a paradox that it is generally known that people with obesity and diabetes recover better from their lung condition than others. So what about COVID-19, which makes people in this group more sensitive? “Scherer said.

In the study, scientists revisited the factors and disease pathways that link obesity and diabetes to the severity of COVID-19 infection.

They noticed that the mechanism can be roughly divided into two groups. Human cellsThe ACE2 receptor, and a receptor that provides the interaction of COVID-19 with existing bacterial conditions.

Scientists explained that the ACE2 receptor is present on the surface of many cells in the human body, is involved in the regulation of blood pressure and vascular function, and is also used by the virus to invade human cells.

They hypothesized that increasing the amount of ACE2 in obese or diabetic people would make it easier for the virus to invade cells and increase the viral load. This is an important factor in determining the severity of the disease.

Alternatively, researchers said increased ACE2 excretion in obese people causes the virus to move to the lungs where it may be used.

They believe that the body’s own microbial fauna can also affect the progression of lung disease.

According to scientists, humans carry more than 100 trillion bacteria in their bodies-more than our own cells.

They believe that people with obesity and diabetes suffer from systemic transmission of bacteria and the substances they produce, which in turn causes low levels of continuous inflammation in different tissues.

Scientists are currently assessing how host bacteria affect the severity of COVID-19.

They said one of the potential perpetrators could be lipopolysaccharide (LPS) Bacterial-produced molecules can work with other coronaviruses to induce dyspnea in pigs, they said.

They pointed out in a study that LPS molecules can bind forces with human COVID-19, causing a series of events that transform healthy tissue into scarred tissue.

“All of these potential mechanisms can contribute to the severity of COVID-19, but one of them plays a major role, not only in obese and diabetic patients, but also at high risk. It should also be present in the group of COVID-19, “Scheller explained.

Scientists say that a complex defect in ACE2 caused by COVID-19 along with obesity and diabetes can lead to impaired intestinal barrier function, allowing bacteria and their toxins to leak into the circulatory system. said.

They believe that these bacteria and toxins work together with the lung virus and can cause more serious damage than either one does alone.

“Our theory is supported by experiments showing that a combination of bacterial and viral infections can cause a” cytokine storm “(extreme inflammatory response). This is a feature of COVID-19. ”

“In addition, the involvement of viral-bacterial interactions can explain the increased risk of severe COVID-19 seen in the elderly, people with heart disease, and some ethnic groups,” he said. Added.