Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Institute of Immunology, University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
Endocr Metab Immune Disord Drug Targets. 2022;22(12):1149-1153. doi: 10.2174/1871530321666210909165757.
Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) can be a fatal disease and is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2). SARS-CoV2 is an enveloped virus that belongs to the Beta coronavirus subfamily. After entering into the target cells, this virus replicates rapidly and leads to cellular damage and uncontrolled pulmonary inflammation. Huge amounts of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines are produced by infected lung cells and are associated with monocyte recruitment and accumulation of inflammatory macrophages at the site of infection. Mitochondrial citrate carrier (CIC) expression increases in these macrophages, which results in elevated levels of cytosolic citrate and the production of inflammatory mediators. In this perspective article, we discuss the role of mitochondrial CIC in the metabolism of inflammatory macrophages and we propose that inhibition of this carrier might be a novel therapeutic approach for COVID-19 patients.
新型冠状病毒病（COVID-19）是一种致命疾病，由严重急性呼吸系统综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV2）引起。SARS-CoV2 是一种包膜病毒，属于贝塔冠状病毒亚科。进入靶细胞后，该病毒迅速复制，导致细胞损伤和肺部炎症失控。受感染的肺细胞产生大量的炎症细胞因子和趋化因子，与单核细胞募集和感染部位炎症巨噬细胞的积累有关。这些巨噬细胞中的线粒体柠檬酸载体（CIC）表达增加，导致细胞溶质柠檬酸水平升高，并产生炎症介质。在这篇观点文章中，我们讨论了线粒体 CIC 在炎症巨噬细胞代谢中的作用，并提出抑制这种载体可能是 COVID-19 患者的一种新的治疗方法。
