Abstract

Background: Severe Coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) infection has been associated with neutrophilia and the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETosis). In addition, glucidic metabolism is affected during acute COVID-19, and diabetes mellitus type 2 (DMT2) has been associated with worse prognosis. However, whether glucidic metabolism is associated with NETosis after COVID-19 remains unknown. In this study, we evaluated the association between NETosis and alterations in glucidic metabolism in COVID-19 patients. Methods: 60 COVID-19 patients were recruited from Víctor-Rios-Ruiz Hospital, 6 months after acute phase. Serum samples were used to determine glycemia, insulin and HOMA. Vital NETosis was measured in neutrophils from patients using flow cytometry with SytoxBlue and Live/Dead dye, whereas the effect of plasma from patients on healthy neutrophils was analysed using Incucyte with SytoxGreen. Results: In our cohort, 19 patients had insulin resistance (IR) or DMT2 before COVID-19, whereas 41 reported no previous disease. Six-months after acute infection, 26 from those 41 patients with no previous alteration developed IR, thus we had 45 patients with metabolic alteration and 15 patients with normal parameters. Our analysis showed that COVID-19 patients with glucidic metabolic disorders have a significant increment of vital NETosis and their plasma significantly increased NETosis in healthy neutrophils at 2 and 6-hours after exposure.Conclusion: These results suggest that patients develop IR as a result of COVID-19 pandemic and that glucidic metabolic alterations promote NETosis that may contribute with COVID-19 severity. Acknowledgment: Thanks to my lab partners and teacher for their support.