Molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in tissue-specific metabolic modulation by SARS-CoV-2

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is triggered by the SARS-CoV-2, which is able to infect and cause dysfunction not only in lungs, but also in multiple organs, including central nervous system, skeletal muscle, kidneys, heart, liver, and intestine. Several metabolic disturbances are associated with cell damage or tissue injury, but the mechanisms involved are not yet fully elucidated. Some potential mechanisms involved in the COVID-19-induced tissue dysfunction are proposed, such as: (a) High expression and levels of proinflammatory cytokines, including TNF-α IL-6, IL-1β, INF-α and INF-β, increasing the systemic and tissue inflammatory state; (b) Induction of oxidative stress due to redox imbalance, resulting in cell injury or death induced by elevated production of reactive oxygen species; and (c) Deregulation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, exacerbating the inflammatory and oxidative stress responses. In this review, we discuss the main metabolic disturbances observed in different target tissues of SARS-CoV-2 and the potential mechanisms involved in these changes associated with the tissue dysfunction

Obesity, Associated Diseases and Potential Complications: Prevention and Treatment Strategy through Nutritional Intervention Combined with Physical Activity

Obesity modulate the production of hormones and adipokines such as leptin, adiponectin, and resistin, thereby favoring the development of chronic Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs). Nutritional intervention is a strategy used for its prevention and/or treatment. We analyzed the benefits of a nutritional intervention program combined with the practice of physical activity on body composition and NCD markers. Eighteen people with a mean age of 58 ± 8 years, weight of 73.68 ± 16.57 kg, Body Mass Index (BMI) of 28.30 ± 4.88 kg/m2, Waist Circumference (WC) of 95.72 ± 13.57 cm, waist/hip ratio of 0.80 ± 0.07, and body fat percentage of 35.22% ± 4.84% who practiced aquatic aerobics and/or swimming participated in a six-month nutritional intervention program with weekly meetings. Data collection was performed before and after the intervention. We evaluated BMI, body fat percentage, WC, and hip circumference as well as the levels of leptin, resistin, adiponectin, and insulin. Nutritional intervention combined with physical activity contributed to a reduction in weight by 1.47% (p &lt; 0.05), BMI by 1.32% (p &lt; 0.05), and the plasma concentration of leptin by 18.04% (p &lt; 0.05) and resistin by 8.70% (p &lt; 0.05). There was no significant change in the hormones adiponectin and insulin. Total cholesterol decreased by 22% (p &lt; 0.01) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) by 51.80% (p &lt; 0.0001). During the follow-up period we observed a reduction in weight, BMI, leptin, resistin, total cholesterol, and LDL-c. Therefore, we conclude that changes in eating habits along with the performance of physical activity assist in the treatment of overweightness and obesity and, thus, prevent associated diseases.</jats:p