LIPId Profile Changes in Inflammatory Conditions Induced by SARS-CORoronavirus-2

In late 2019, a new coronavirus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was identified as the cause of COVID-19 (COronaVIrus Disease-2019) in Hubei Province, China. COVID-19 has become a pandemic with approximately 4.1 million confirmed cases as of May 2020 resulting in 280,000 deaths worldwide. Between 5 and 20% of patients hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infection are admitted to the ICU with a mortality ranging from 25 to 60% depending on the series. At present, there is no effective targeted therapy against this viral infection. High-density lipoproteins (HDL) are nanoparticles made up of apolipoproteins, mainly apoA1, associated with phospholipids whose main function is the reverse transport of cholesterol from peripheral tissues to the liver. This property gives HDL a major cardiovascular protective effect. In addition to this effect, studies have highlighted a number of properties such as anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, anti-thrombotic and anti-oxidant effects of these particles. Furthermore, it has been shown that HDL is able to bind and neutralize bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS), promoting their elimination. During bacterial sepsis, a rapid decrease in plasma HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) concentration has been demonstrated, but also an inverse correlation between mortality and HDL-C concentration. In addition to the quantitative decrease in HDL during sepsis, dysfunctions of these particles have been described, such as major differences in size, or a notable alteration in protein composition with, in particular, more pro-inflammatory proteins. In this context of both quantitative and qualitative alteration of HDL, authors have tested the efficacy of injection of either reconstituted HDL (apoA1 + phosphatidylcholines) or peptides structurally similar to ApoA1 in animal models of sepsis and have demonstrated a protective effect on morbidity and mortality, with in particular a decrease in the inflammatory state induced by sepsis.