Effects of obesity on serum levels of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies in COVID-19 patients

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus-2), cause of COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease of 2019), represents a significant risk to people living with pre-existing conditions associated with exacerbated inflammatory responses and consequent dysfunctional immunity. In this paper, we have evaluated the effects of obesity, a condition associated with chronic systemic inflammation, on the secretion of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG antibodies in the blood of COVID-19 patients. Results have shown that SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies are negatively associated with Body Mass Index (BMI) in COVID-19 obese patients, as expected based on the known effects of obesity on humoral immunity. Antibodies in COVID-19 obese patients are also negatively associated with serum levels of pro-inflammatory and metabolic markers of inflammaging and pulmonary inflammation, such as SAA (serum amyloid A protein), CRP (C-reactive protein) and ferritin, but positively associated with NEFA (nonesterified fatty acids). These results altogether could help to identify an inflammatory signature with strong predictive value for immune dysfunction that could be targeted to improve humoral immunity in individuals with obesity as well as with other chronic inflammatory conditions.

Serological and viral genetic features of patients with COVID-19 in a selected German patient cohort—correlation with disease characteristics

“…The found correlation with older age reflects the stronger humoral inflammatory response reported in aged COVID-19 patients, which may hint at an impaired innate or cellular adaptive immune response [1,29]. Apart from older age, overweight has been described as an additional risk factor for severe COVID-19 progression usually linked with functional impairment of immune cells and decreased immunity as a result of chronic inflammation and hypercytokinemia [30,31]. Therefore, the observed positive association with higher anti-S/N and anti-S1 IgG levels may also be due to a unique predisposition of obese individuals to an impaired cellular anti-SARS-CoV-2 response and requires further investigation.…”

Alteration in the Lipid Profile and the Desaturases Activity in Patients With Severe Pneumonia by SARS-CoV-2

“…Our results also show a decrease in NEFAs in the plasma of the COVID19 patients. In this regard, other researchers have reported a decrease ( Frasca et al, 2020 ; Thomas et al, 2020b ), and others an increase ( Shen et al, 2020 ) these results could be contradictory. However, the explanation could be, the dependance on the state of the infection process.…”

Obesity Is Associated with an Impaired Baseline Repertoire of Anti-Influenza Virus Antibodies

“…The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has echoed the influenza virus A/H1N1 2009 pandemic in identifying obesity as a risk factor for severe disease and mortality ( 5 , 6 , 9 , 19 – 22 ). Several recent studies reported diminished antibody responses in individuals with obesity following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination ( 23 , 24 ). The current study investigated the hypothesis that the differences in vaccine-induced protection between obese and HW individuals may in part be driven by differences in their baseline and postvaccination influenza virus antibody repertoires.…”