ArticlePLoS pathogens2020
Lipid droplets fuel SARS-CoV-2 replication and production of inflammatory mediators.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 209 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
209 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 300 citations in OpenAlex.
- The role of fatty acid metabolism in acute lung injury: a special focus on immunometabolism.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2024Pooled it
- Multi-omics dissection of metabolic hijacking: Infectious bronchitis virus orchestrates lipid-centric replication through PPAR-TGF-β crosstalk.Virulence · 2026Article
- Cereblon promotes influenza A virus replication through AMPK ubiquitination.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2026Article
- Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) relies on cellular lipid droplet biogenesis and lipolysis to provide energy for viral replication.Veterinary research · 2026Article
- Lyssavirus Nucleoprotein Induces GPAT4-Mediated CYB5R1 Depalmitoylation to Suppress Ferroptosis and Promote Viral Replication.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Reorganization of Innate Immune Cell Lipid Profiles by Bioinspired Meroterpenoids to Limit Inflammation.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Article
- Brain corticogenesis promotes SARS-CoV-2 neuro-glial tropism through lipid-dependent viral replication.Stem cell reports · 2026Article
- Review
- HSV-1-Driven Lipid Metabolic Reprogramming and Lipid Droplet Accumulation in Macrophages Impair Antiviral Immunity.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Behind the membranous curtain-lipid dynamics and functions in coronaviral replication.Journal of virology · 2026Review
- Fatty acid synthase promotes Hantaan virus infection through lipogenic regulation in the tree shrew model.Zoological research · 2026Article
- Article
- Mechanistic role of lipid metabolism in foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) replication.Veterinary research · 2026Article
- Article
- Multiorgan Molecular Landscape of Severe COVID-19 Revealed by Consensus Gene Signatures and RAB8B Targeting.Journal of medical virology · 2026Article
- SLC25A1 reprograms mitochondrial and fatty acid metabolism to promote the progression of acute myeloid leukemia.Haematologica · 2026Article
- Human pneumovirus induces IFN-dependent expression of the immune-responsive gene 1 and is inhibited by 4-octyl itaconate in human macrophages.NAR molecular medicine · 2026Article
- Extracellular Vesicle-Delivered tRF-His-GTG-1 Reprograms Neutrophil Lipophagy and Triggers Inflammation in COVID-19.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Article
149 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
22 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that make use of the host metabolic machineries to meet their biosynthetic needs. Thus, identifying the host pathways essential for the virus replication may lead to potential targets for therapeutic intervention. The mechanisms and pathways explored by SARS-CoV-2 to support its replication within host cells are not fully known. Lipid droplets (LD) are organelles with major functions in lipid metabolism, energy homeostasis and intracellular transport, and have multiple roles in infections and inflammation. Here we described that monocytes from COVID-19 patients have an increased LD accumulation compared to SARS-CoV-2 negative donors. In vitro, SARS-CoV-2 infection were seen to modulate pathways of lipid synthesis and uptake as monitored by testing for CD36, SREBP-1, PPARγ, and DGAT-1 expression in monocytes and triggered LD formation in different human cell lines. LDs were found in close apposition with SARS-CoV-2 proteins and double-stranded (ds)-RNA in infected Vero cells. Electron microscopy (EM) analysis of SARS-CoV-2 infected Vero cells show viral particles colocalizing with LDs, suggestive that LDs might serve as an assembly platform. Pharmacological modulation of LD formation by inhibition of DGAT-1 with A922500 significantly inhibited SARS-CoV-2 replication as well as reduced production of mediators pro-inflammatory response. Taken together, we demonstrate the essential role of lipid metabolic reprograming and LD formation in SARS-CoV-2 replication and pathogenesis, opening new opportunities for therapeutic strategies to COVID-19.
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