Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35311662›Full record

ArticleMetabolism: clinical and experimental2022

Reduced DMPC and PMPC in lung surfactant promote SARS-CoV-2 infection in obesity.

Kang Du, Ling Sun, Zichen Luo, Yang Cao, Qiushi Sun, Kangzhen Zhang, Ahmed Faizy, Daniele Piomelli, Xiang Lu, Jinjun Shan and 1 more

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Metabolism: clinical and experimental, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 12% 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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. In Vitro Investigation of the Cytotoxic and Antioxidant Activities ofAdvances in pharmacological and pharmaceutical sciences · 2025
    Article
  4. Review
  5. Magnitude of obesity alone does not alter the alveolar lipidome.American journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology · 2024
    Article
  6. Review
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

11 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Kang DuDepartment of Medicine, Physiology and Biophysics, UCI Diabetes Center, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
Ling SunInstitute of Pediatrics, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Pediatric Respiratory Disease, Medical Metabolomics Center, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China.
Zichen LuoInstitute of Pediatrics, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Pediatric Respiratory Disease, Medical Metabolomics Center, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China.
Yang CaoDepartment of Medicine, Physiology and Biophysics, UCI Diabetes Center, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
Qiushi SunDepartment of Medicine, Physiology and Biophysics, UCI Diabetes Center, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
Kangzhen ZhangDepartment of Medicine, Physiology and Biophysics, UCI Diabetes Center, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
Ahmed FaizyDepartment of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-4625, USA; Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-4625, USA.
Daniele PiomelliDepartment of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-4625, USA; Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-4625, USA.
Xiang LuDepartment of Geriatrics, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China.
Jinjun ShanInstitute of Pediatrics, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Pediatric Respiratory Disease, Medical Metabolomics Center, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China. Electronic address: jshan@njucm.edu.cn.
Qin YangDepartment of Medicine, Physiology and Biophysics, UCI Diabetes Center, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA. Electronic address: qin.yang@uci.edu.
University of California, Irvine · USNanjing University of Chinese Medicine · CNNanjing Medical University · CN

Funding

Epigenetic Regulation of Mitochondrial Homeostasis and Energy MetabolismR01DK121146 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI Qin Yang · 2019 to 2026
$3.5M
NIDDK NIH HHS R01 DK121146
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveObesity is an established risk factor for higher SARS-CoV-2 viral loads, severe COVID-19 pneumonia requiring hospitalization, and worse outcomes. However, the underlying mechanisms for the increased risk are not well understood. SARS-CoV-2 is a respiratory virus with the primary route of entry through the lungs, where the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 binds to the ACE2 receptor on pneumocytes. Lung surfactant produced by type II pneumocytes plays a major role in respiratory defense against infections. Surfactant predominantly contains lipids, especially phosphatidylcholines (PC), and obesity is characterized by aberrant lipid metabolism. We hypothesized that altered lipid composition in lung surfactant in obesity may promote SARS-CoV-2 infection, leading to severe COVID-19 disease.

methodsLipidomic analysis of lung tissue and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was performed using LC-MS/MS. The effects of PCs on SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus infection were studied in HEK293T cells with ACE2 overexpression and in Vero-E6 cells with endogenous ACE2 expression. For the cell-cell fusion assay, HEK293T-ACE2 and HEK293T expressing SARS-CoV-2 Spike/eGFP were used as the target and effector cells, respectively.

resultsLipidomic analysis revealed that myristic acid-containing dimyristoyl-PC (DMPC) and palmitoylmyristoyl-PC (PMPC) were reduced in lung tissue and BALF from high fat diet-induced obese mice. DMPC and PMPC markedly inhibited wild type and D614G mutant SARS-CoV-2 infection in HEK293T-ACE2 and Vero-E6 cells. Feeding obese mice with trimyristin, the triglycerides of myristic acid, increased DMPC and PMPC levels in lung surfactant. Lipid extract from BALF of trimyristin-treated obese mice mitigated the elevated wild type and D614G mutant SARS-CoV-2 infection. The inhibitory effects of DMPC and PMPC on SARS-CoV-2 infection were reversed by cholesterol.

conclusionsThe reduced DMPC and PMPC in lung surfactant may promote SARS-CoV-2 infection. Increasing DMPC and PMPC in lung surfactant could be an innovative strategy for preventing and treating severe COVID-19 disease in obesity.

Indexed as

COVID-19Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2AnimalsChromatography, LiquidDimyristoylphosphatidylcholineHEK293 CellsHumansLungMiceMyristic AcidObesitySARS-CoV-2Spike Glycoprotein, CoronavirusSurface-Active AgentsTandem Mass SpectrometryAngiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2DimyristoylphosphatidylcholineMyristic AcidSpike Glycoprotein, Coronavirusspike protein, SARS-CoV-2Surface-Active AgentsCOVID-19Lung surfactantObesityPhosphatidylcholineSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID35311662
PMCPMC8930181
OpenAlexW4220700831

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.