{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:33:17Z","timestamp":1760059997599,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":76,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,29]],"date-time":"2025-07-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1753747200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"European Union and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)","award":["UIDB\/00051\/2020","UIDP\/00051\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/00051\/2020","UIDP\/00051\/2020"]}]},{"name":"FCT\u2013Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology","award":["UIDB\/00051\/2020","UIDP\/00051\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/00051\/2020","UIDP\/00051\/2020"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Increased body mass index (BMI) and age are associated with COVID-19 severity. SARS-CoV-2 infection occurs through ACE2 binding, with TMPRSS2, ADAM17, and NRP1 facilitating this process. This study describes how adipose tissue (AT) location, BMI, age, and obesity affect these proteins\u2019 expression. AT was collected from subcutaneous (abdominal superficial [AS], abdominal deep [AD], thigh [T]) and visceral (epiploon [E]) areas from middle-aged women without obesity (BMI 23.9 kg\/m2, age 48.3 years). Subcutaneous AT was also obtained from middle-aged women with previous obesity (BMI 24.8 kg\/m2, previously 41.7 kg\/m2, age 46.9 years), older women with obesity (BMI 32.3 kg\/m2, age 70.8 years), and older women without obesity (BMI 23.7 kg\/m2, age 70.6 years). ACE2, TMPRSS2, ADAM17, and NRP1 expression was evaluated by qPCR and Western blotting. All proteins were more expressed in visceral AT. ACE2, TMPRSS2, and NRP1 positively correlated with BMI in AS and\/or E, while NRP1 correlated with age in T. In subcutaneous AT, ACE2 and NRP1 were more influenced by obesity while TMPRSS2 was more age-dependent. In women with previous obesity, ACE2 and NRP1 levels decreased, while TMPRSS2 and ADAM17 remained unchanged. These findings highlight the differential influence of visceral AT, obesity, and age on the expression of SARS-CoV-2 cell entry mediators, potentially contributing to COVID-19 severity.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms26157313","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,29]],"date-time":"2025-07-29T09:31:45Z","timestamp":1753781505000},"page":"7313","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Impact of Obesity and Ageing on the Expression of Key Mediators of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Human Adipose Tissue"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6568-1917","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria","family":"Salazar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Unidade de Biologia Experimental, Departamento de Biomedicina, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Alameda Prof. Hern\u00e2ni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"i3S\u2014Instituto de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o e Inova\u00e7\u00e3o em Sa\u00fade, Universidade do Porto\/IBMC\u2014Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen 208, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Mariana","family":"Ferreira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unidade de Biologia Experimental, Departamento de Biomedicina, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Alameda Prof. Hern\u00e2ni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3504-5749","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sandra Marisa","family":"Oliveira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiovascular R&D Centre\u2014UnIC@RISE, Department of Surgery and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Alameda Prof. Hern\u00e2ni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Francisca","family":"Saraiva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiovascular R&D Centre\u2014UnIC@RISE, Department of Surgery and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Alameda Prof. Hern\u00e2ni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5574-4459","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carlos","family":"Pinho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Instituto Portugu\u00eas de Oncologia do Porto FG, Rua Dr. Ant\u00f3nio Bernardino de Almeida, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Mariana","family":"Jarnalo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Instituto Portugu\u00eas de Oncologia do Porto FG, Rua Dr. Ant\u00f3nio Bernardino de Almeida, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, and Burn Unit, Centro Hospitalar e Universit\u00e1rio de S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o, University of Porto, Alameda Prof. Hern\u00e2ni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"In\u00eas","family":"Correia-S\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, and Burn Unit, Centro Hospitalar e Universit\u00e1rio de S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o, University of Porto, Alameda Prof. Hern\u00e2ni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1937-3782","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"In\u00eas","family":"Falc\u00e3o-Pires","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiovascular R&D Centre\u2014UnIC@RISE, Department of Surgery and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Alameda Prof. Hern\u00e2ni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7808-3596","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Adelino","family":"Leite-Moreira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiovascular R&D Centre\u2014UnIC@RISE, Department of Surgery and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Alameda Prof. Hern\u00e2ni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3301-8376","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Delminda","family":"Neves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unidade de Biologia Experimental, Departamento de Biomedicina, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Alameda Prof. Hern\u00e2ni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"i3S\u2014Instituto de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o e Inova\u00e7\u00e3o em Sa\u00fade, Universidade do Porto\/IBMC\u2014Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen 208, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3036-3211","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Henrique","family":"Almeida","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unidade de Biologia Experimental, Departamento de Biomedicina, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Alameda Prof. Hern\u00e2ni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"i3S\u2014Instituto de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o e Inova\u00e7\u00e3o em Sa\u00fade, Universidade do Porto\/IBMC\u2014Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen 208, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9613-1552","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Adriana R.","family":"Rodrigues","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unidade de Biologia Experimental, Departamento de Biomedicina, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Alameda Prof. Hern\u00e2ni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"i3S\u2014Instituto de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o e Inova\u00e7\u00e3o em Sa\u00fade, Universidade do Porto\/IBMC\u2014Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen 208, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences of the University of Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 823, 4150-180 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8784-4246","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alexandra M.","family":"Gouveia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unidade de Biologia Experimental, Departamento de Biomedicina, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Alameda Prof. Hern\u00e2ni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"i3S\u2014Instituto de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o e Inova\u00e7\u00e3o em Sa\u00fade, Universidade do Porto\/IBMC\u2014Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen 208, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101205","DOI":"10.1016\/j.arr.2020.101205","article-title":"Aging in COVID-19: Vulnerability, immunity and intervention","volume":"65","author":"Chen","year":"2021","journal-title":"Ageing Res. 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