SARS-CoV-2 infection and diabetes: Pathophysiological mechanism of multi-system organ failure

Abstract

Since the discovery of the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak, a vast majority of studies have been carried out that confirmed the worst outcome of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in people with preexisting health conditions, including diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Likewise, diabetes itself is one of the leading causes of global public health concerns that impose a heavy global burden on public health as well as socio-economic development. Both diabetes and SARS-CoV-2 infection have their independent ability to induce the pathogenesis and severity of multi-system organ failure, while the co-existence of these two culprits can accelerate the rate of disease progression and magnify the severity of the disease. However, the exact pathophysiology of multi-system organ failure in diabetic patients after SARS-CoV-2 infection is still obscure. This review summarized the organ-specific possible molecular mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 and diabetes-induced pathophysiology of several diseases of multiple organs, including the lungs, heart, kidneys, brain, eyes, gastrointestinal system, and bones, and sub-sequent manifestation of multi-system organ failure.