AI Article Synopsis
- SREBP-2 is a protein that is activated by infections and is linked to low cholesterol levels in COVID-19 patients, but its specific role in this context is not fully understood.
- * Researchers found a new fragment of SREBP-2 in the blood of COVID-19 patients, which could help assess the severity of the illness.
- * Inhibiting SREBP-2 was shown to lessen immune responses that cause lung damage in severe viral infections, suggesting it could be a valuable target for treatment and diagnosis in COVID-19.
Article Abstract
Sterol regulatory element binding protein-2 (SREBP-2) is activated by cytokines or pathogen, such as virus or bacteria, but its association with diminished cholesterol levels in COVID-19 patients is unknown. Here, we evaluated SREBP-2 activation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of COVID-19 patients and verified the function of SREBP-2 in COVID-19. Intriguingly, we report the first observation of SREBP-2 C-terminal fragment in COVID-19 patients' blood and propose SREBP-2 C-terminal fragment as an indicator for determining severity. We confirmed that SREBP-2-induced cholesterol biosynthesis was suppressed by Sestrin-1 and PCSK9 expression, while the SREBP-2-induced inflammatory responses was upregulated in COVID-19 ICU patients. Using an infectious disease mouse model, inhibitors of SREBP-2 and NF-κB suppressed cytokine storms caused by viral infection and prevented pulmonary damages. These results collectively suggest that SREBP-2 can serve as an indicator for severity diagnosis and therapeutic target for preventing cytokine storm and lung damage in severe COVID-19 patients.
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Source |
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7471497 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41392-020-00292-7 | DOI Listing |
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