Institute Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec (IUCPQ), Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.
High Altitude Pulmonary and Pathology Institute IPPA. La Paz, Bolivia.
Respir Physiol Neurobiol. 2020 Jun;277:103443. doi: 10.1016/j.resp.2020.103443. Epub 2020 Apr 22.
In the present study we analyze the epidemiological data of COVID-19 of Tibet and high-altitude regions of Bolivia and Ecuador, and compare to lowland data, to test the hypothesis that high-altitude inhabitants (+2,500 m above sea-level) are less susceptible to develop severe adverse effects in acute SARS-CoV-2 virus infection. Analysis of available epidemiological data suggest that physiological acclimatization/adaptation that counterbalance the hypoxic environment in high-altitude may protect from severe impact of acute SARS-CoV-2 virus infection. Potential underlying mechanisms such as: (i) a compromised half-live of the virus caused by the high-altitude environment, and (ii) a hypoxia mediated down regulation of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which is the main binding target of SARS-CoV-2 virus in the pulmonary epithelium are discussed.
在本研究中，我们分析了西藏和玻利维亚、厄瓜多尔高原地区的 COVID-19 流行病学数据，并与低地数据进行了比较，以检验高海拔地区（海拔 2500 米以上）居民不易在急性 SARS-CoV-2 病毒感染中产生严重不良反应的假设。对现有流行病学数据的分析表明，高海拔环境下的生理适应/适应可能会保护人们免受急性 SARS-CoV-2 病毒感染的严重影响。潜在的潜在机制包括：（i）病毒的半衰期因高海拔环境而受损，以及（ii）缺氧介导的血管紧张素转换酶 2（ACE2）下调，这是 SARS-CoV-2 病毒在肺上皮中的主要结合靶标。
