Cholesterol in Relation to COVID-19: Should We Care about It?
Current data suggest that infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing corona virus disease-19 (COVID-19) seems to follow a more severe clinical course in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), hypertension, and overweight/obesity. It appears that lipid-lo...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-06-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/6/1909 |
| _version_ | 1797564899141877760 |
|---|---|
| author | Dina Radenkovic Shreya Chawla Matteo Pirro Amirhossein Sahebkar Maciej Banach |
| author_facet | Dina Radenkovic Shreya Chawla Matteo Pirro Amirhossein Sahebkar Maciej Banach |
| author_sort | Dina Radenkovic |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Current data suggest that infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing corona virus disease-19 (COVID-19) seems to follow a more severe clinical course in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), hypertension, and overweight/obesity. It appears that lipid-lowering pharmacological interventions, in particular statins, might reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications caused by COVID-19 and might potentially have an additional antiviral activity. It has been shown that high cholesterol levels are associated with more lipid rafts, subdomains of the plasma membrane that can harbour angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors for the S-protein of SARS-CoV-2. Evidence of the importance of cholesterol for viral entry into host cells could suggest a role for cholesterol-lowering therapies in reducing viral infectivity. In addition to their lipid-lowering and plaque-stabilisation effects, statins possess pleiotropic effects including anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and antithrombotic activities. Lower rates of mortality and intubation have been reported in studies investigating statin therapy in influenza infection, and statin therapy was shown to increase viral clearance from the blood during chronic hepatitis C infection. Statins may also serve as potential SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors, thereby contributing to the control of viral infection. In this review, we elaborate on the role of cholesterol level in the process of the coronavirus infection and provide a critical appraisal on the potential of statins in reducing the severity, duration, and complications of COVID-19. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:03:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a93ed9ccb41744688a9d64aa03926991 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0383 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:03:25Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-a93ed9ccb41744688a9d64aa039269912023-11-20T04:15:51ZengMDPI AGJournal of Clinical Medicine2077-03832020-06-0196190910.3390/jcm9061909Cholesterol in Relation to COVID-19: Should We Care about It?Dina Radenkovic0Shreya Chawla1Matteo Pirro2Amirhossein Sahebkar3Maciej Banach4Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, London SE1 7EH, UKFaculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, London SE5 9NU, UKUnit of Internal Medicine, Angiology and Arteriosclerosis Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Perugia, 06123 Perugia, ItalyHalal Research Center of IRI, FDA, Tehran 314715311, IranDepartment of Hypertension, WAM University Hospital in Lodz, Medical University of Lodz (MUL), Zeromskiego 113, 90-549 Lodz, PolandCurrent data suggest that infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing corona virus disease-19 (COVID-19) seems to follow a more severe clinical course in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), hypertension, and overweight/obesity. It appears that lipid-lowering pharmacological interventions, in particular statins, might reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications caused by COVID-19 and might potentially have an additional antiviral activity. It has been shown that high cholesterol levels are associated with more lipid rafts, subdomains of the plasma membrane that can harbour angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors for the S-protein of SARS-CoV-2. Evidence of the importance of cholesterol for viral entry into host cells could suggest a role for cholesterol-lowering therapies in reducing viral infectivity. In addition to their lipid-lowering and plaque-stabilisation effects, statins possess pleiotropic effects including anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and antithrombotic activities. Lower rates of mortality and intubation have been reported in studies investigating statin therapy in influenza infection, and statin therapy was shown to increase viral clearance from the blood during chronic hepatitis C infection. Statins may also serve as potential SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors, thereby contributing to the control of viral infection. In this review, we elaborate on the role of cholesterol level in the process of the coronavirus infection and provide a critical appraisal on the potential of statins in reducing the severity, duration, and complications of COVID-19.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/6/1909atherosclerosischolesterolcoronavirusCOVID-19lipid-lowering therapySARS-CoV-2 |
| spellingShingle | Dina Radenkovic Shreya Chawla Matteo Pirro Amirhossein Sahebkar Maciej Banach Cholesterol in Relation to COVID-19: Should We Care about It? Journal of Clinical Medicine atherosclerosis cholesterol coronavirus COVID-19 lipid-lowering therapy SARS-CoV-2 |
| title | Cholesterol in Relation to COVID-19: Should We Care about It? |
| title_full | Cholesterol in Relation to COVID-19: Should We Care about It? |
| title_fullStr | Cholesterol in Relation to COVID-19: Should We Care about It? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cholesterol in Relation to COVID-19: Should We Care about It? |
| title_short | Cholesterol in Relation to COVID-19: Should We Care about It? |
| title_sort | cholesterol in relation to covid 19 should we care about it |
| topic | atherosclerosis cholesterol coronavirus COVID-19 lipid-lowering therapy SARS-CoV-2 |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/6/1909 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dinaradenkovic cholesterolinrelationtocovid19shouldwecareaboutit AT shreyachawla cholesterolinrelationtocovid19shouldwecareaboutit AT matteopirro cholesterolinrelationtocovid19shouldwecareaboutit AT amirhosseinsahebkar cholesterolinrelationtocovid19shouldwecareaboutit AT maciejbanach cholesterolinrelationtocovid19shouldwecareaboutit |