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 evalua...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.展开更多
基金supported by grants from the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF)funded by the KRIBB Research Initiative Program(OGM4391913 and KGM5391911)supported by a grant from the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF)funded by the Korean Government(MSIT)(grant no.2018R1A2A3075013,2019R1C1C1006300,2019R1A4A1028700,2020R1A4A4079817,and 2020R1A2C1004131)+2 种基金the Ministry of Education(NRF-2018R1D1A1B07050422)supported by KIST Institutional Program(2V07950)supported by a grant of the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute(KHIDI),funded by the Ministry of Health&Welfare,Republic of Korea(grant no.HI15C0001).
文摘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.