Aging and monocyte immunometabolism in COVID-19

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the third highly pathogenic coronavirus to emerge in the 21st century. The virus, which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was the first of these coronaviruses to cause a worldwide pandemic, and to date has resulted in over 100 million cases and over 2 million deaths worldwide and has massively impacted the economy of nearly every country. COVID-19 disproportionately affects older adults, with individuals age 80 or older having >20-fold and >300-fold risk of death from COVID-19 compared to 50-59 and 18-39 age groups respectively [1]. Immune dysfunction during aging is well known, and a variety of age-related immune system impair-ments are thought to impact the response to SARS-CoV-2 in older adults [2]. However, the precise mechanisms by which aging and immunity interact to exacerbate COVID-19 have not been adequately described.