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Updated: Dec 10, 2025

Author Spotlight: Advancements in Multiplex Detection of Respiratory Viruses
Published on: November 10, 2023
The Collision of Meta-Inflammation and SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic Infection
Gabrielle P Huizinga1, Benjamin H Singer2,3, Kanakadurga Singer4
1Graduate Program in Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Abstract:
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has forced us to consider the physiologic role of obesity in the response to infectious disease. There are significant disparities in morbidity and mortality by sex, weight, and diabetes status. Numerous endocrine changes might drive these varied responses to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, including hormone and immune mediators, hyperglycemia, leukocyte responses, cytokine secretion, and tissue dysfunction. Studies of patients with severe COVID-19 disease have revealed the importance of innate immune responses in driving immunopathology and tissue injury. In this review we will describe the impact of the metabolically induced inflammation (meta-inflammation) that characterizes obesity on innate immunity. We consider that obesity-driven dysregulation of innate immune responses may drive organ injury in the development of severe COVID-19 and impair viral clearance.
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