One theory that explains the increase in diabetes is that the virus infects pancreatic cells through the same ACE2 receptor found on the surface of lung cells and interferes with their ability to produce insulin – a hormone that helps the body regulate blood glucose levels. Also, an exuberant response of antibodies to the virus could accidentally affect pancreatic cells or inflammation in other parts of the body could also affect the tissues’ response to insulin.
To investigate, Prof. Shuibing Chen of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York examined various cells and organoids to find out which could be infected with Covid. The results showed that the lungs, colon, heart, liver and pancreatic organoids could be infected, as could dopamine-producing brain cells, Digi24 reports.
“We call it transdifferentiation. It basically changes their cell fate, so instead of being beta cells that secrete a lot of insulin, they start mixing different hormones. It could provide additional insight into the pathological mechanisms of Covid-19, ”said Chen, who presented the results at the annual meeting of the European Diabetes Association on Wednesday.
Chen also said that it is not yet clear whether the changes triggered by Covid infection are long-lasting, citing the example of some patients who had very unstable blood glucose levels when they were in the intensive care unit. After recovering from Covid-19, some of them regained control of glucose, suggesting that the changes are not permanent in all patients.
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