COVID infection often causes adipose atrophy, weight loss and cachexia, which significantly contribute to poor quality of life and mortality. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered that SARS-CoV-2 infection fuels blood vessel formation in fat tissues, thus revving up the body’s thermogenic metabolism. Blocking this process with an existing drug curbed weight loss in mice and hamsters that were infected with the virus, according to the study published in the journal Nature Metabolism.
“Our study proposes a completely new concept for treating COVID associated weight loss by targeting the blood vessels in the fat tissues,” says corresponding author Yihai Cao, professor at Karolinska Institutet.
The researchers examined how different types of fat, including brown fat and visceral and subcutaneous white fat, reacted when exposed to SARS-CoV-2 and how it impacted weight in mice and hamsters. They found that the animals lost significant amounts of weight in four days and that this weight loss was preceded by the activation of brown fat and the browning of both types of white fat. These fat tissues also contained more microvessels and high levels of a signaling protein called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which promotes the growth of new blood vessels.
Similar mechanisms in humans
The researchers observed the same mechanisms in human tissue samples from four patients who died of COVID, suggesting the findings could be clinically relevant for humans.
When the animals were treated with an anti-VEGF drug, the animals recovered most of their lost weight and their fat tissues exhibited fewer microvessels.
“Antiangiogenic drugs are currently used in the clinic to treat various types of cancers,” Yihai Cao says. “It’s possible these drugs could also be helpful in treating COVID-related problems such as excessive weight loss and metabolic changes, thus improving the quality of life and survival for these patients. Of course, we will need more research to validate if our preclinical findings also hold up in human trials.”
Source: Karolinska Institutet
