TY - JOUR
T1 - Inflamm-aging
T2 - Why older men are the most susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 complicated outcomes
AU - Bonafè, Massimiliano
AU - Prattichizzo, Francesco
AU - Giuliani, Angelica
AU - Storci, Gianluca
AU - Sabbatinelli, Jacopo
AU - Olivieri, Fabiola
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the I talian Ministry of Health [Ricerca Corrente grants to IRCCS MultiMedica] and by Università Politecnica delle Marche (UNIVPM) [RSA grants to F.O.].
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/6
Y1 - 2020/6
N2 - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is characterized by a high mortality of elderly men with age-related comorbidities. In most of these patients, uncontrolled local and systemic hyperinflammation induces severe and often lethal outcomes. The aging process is characterized by the gradual development of a chronic subclinical systemic inflammation (inflamm-aging) and by acquired immune system impairment (immune senescence). Here, we advance the hypothesis that four well-recognized features of aging contribute to the disproportionate SARS-CoV-2 mortality suffered by elderly men: i. the presence of subclinical systemic inflammation without overt disease, ii. a blunted acquired immune system and type I interferon response due to the chronic inflammation; iii. the downregulation of ACE2 (i.e. the SARS-CoV-2 receptor); and iv. accelerated biological aging. The high mortality rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection suggests that clarification of the mechanisms of inflamm-aging and immune senescence can help combat not only age-related disorders but also SARS-CoV-2 infection.
AB - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is characterized by a high mortality of elderly men with age-related comorbidities. In most of these patients, uncontrolled local and systemic hyperinflammation induces severe and often lethal outcomes. The aging process is characterized by the gradual development of a chronic subclinical systemic inflammation (inflamm-aging) and by acquired immune system impairment (immune senescence). Here, we advance the hypothesis that four well-recognized features of aging contribute to the disproportionate SARS-CoV-2 mortality suffered by elderly men: i. the presence of subclinical systemic inflammation without overt disease, ii. a blunted acquired immune system and type I interferon response due to the chronic inflammation; iii. the downregulation of ACE2 (i.e. the SARS-CoV-2 receptor); and iv. accelerated biological aging. The high mortality rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection suggests that clarification of the mechanisms of inflamm-aging and immune senescence can help combat not only age-related disorders but also SARS-CoV-2 infection.
KW - Cardiovascular diseases
KW - COVID-19
KW - Host-directed therapies
KW - Inflamm-aging
KW - interleukin-6
KW - SARS-CoV-2
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U2 - 10.1016/j.cytogfr.2020.04.005
DO - 10.1016/j.cytogfr.2020.04.005
M3 - Article
C2 - 32389499
AN - SCOPUS:85084406049
VL - 53
SP - 33
EP - 37
JO - Cytokine and Growth Factor Reviews
JF - Cytokine and Growth Factor Reviews
SN - 1359-6101
ER -