AUTHOR=Elrayess Mohamed A. , Cyprian Farhan S. , Abdallah Abdallah M. , Emara Mohamed M. , Diboun Ilhame , Anwardeen Najeha , Schuchardt Sven , Yassine Hadi M.
TITLE=Metabolic Signatures of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Hypertension in COVID-19 Patients With Different Disease Severity
JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine
VOLUME=8
YEAR=2022
URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2021.788687
DOI=10.3389/fmed.2021.788687
ISSN=2296-858X
ABSTRACT=Introduction: Increased COVID-19 disease severity is higher among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension. However, the metabolic pathways underlying this association are not fully characterized. This study aims to identify the metabolic signature associated with increased COVID-19 severity in patients with diabetes mellitus and hypertension.
Methods: One hundred and fifteen COVID-19 patients were divided based on disease severity, diabetes status, and hypertension status. Targeted metabolomics of serum samples from all patients was performed using tandem mass spectrometry followed by multivariate and univariate models.
Results: Reduced levels of various triacylglycerols were observed with increased disease severity in the diabetic patients, including those containing palmitic (C16:0), docosapentaenoic (C22:5, DPA), and docosahexaenoic (C22:6, DHA) acids (FDR < 0.01). Functional enrichment analysis revealed triacylglycerols as the pathway exhibiting the most significant changes in severe COVID-19 in diabetic patients (FDR = 7.1 × 10−27). Similarly, reduced levels of various triacylglycerols were also observed in hypertensive patients corresponding with increased disease severity, including those containing palmitic, oleic (C18:1), and docosahexaenoic acids. Functional enrichment analysis revealed long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 and n-6) as the pathway exhibiting the most significant changes with increased disease severity in hypertensive patients (FDR = 0.07).
Conclusions: Reduced levels of triacylglycerols containing specific long-chain unsaturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids are associated with increased COVID-19 severity in diabetic and hypertensive patients, offering potential novel diagnostic and therapeutic targets.