Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34684358›Full record

ArticleNutrients2021

Obesogenic and Ketogenic Diets Distinctly Regulate the SARS-CoV-2 Entry Proteins ACE2 and TMPRSS2 and the Renin-Angiotensin System in Rat Lung and Heart Tissues.

Daniel Da Eira, Shailee Jani, Rolando B Ceddia

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nutrients, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 25% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Impact of Glucose, Inflammation and Phytochemicals onAntioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Daniel Da EiraMuscle Health Research Center, School of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University, Toronto, ON M3J1P3, Canada.
Shailee JaniMuscle Health Research Center, School of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University, Toronto, ON M3J1P3, Canada.
Rolando B CeddiaMuscle Health Research Center, School of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University, Toronto, ON M3J1P3, Canada.
York University · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundObesity 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.

methodsMale 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.

resultsIn 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.

conclusionDiet-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.

Indexed as

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2AnimalsBiomarkersCOVID-19Diet, High-FatDiet, KetogenicDisease Models, AnimalLungMaleMyocardiumObesityRatsRats, Sprague-DawleyRenin-Angiotensin SystemSARS-CoV-2Serine EndopeptidasesAce2 protein, ratAngiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2BiomarkersSerine EndopeptidasesTmprss2 protein, ratIL6inflammationketonesMasRobesityTLR4TNF-alpha

Identifiers

PMID34684358
PMCPMC8541329
OpenAlexW3202806457

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.