Xue W, Honda M, Hibi T. Mechanisms of gastrointestinal barrier dysfunction in COVID-19 patients. World J Gastroenterol 2023; 29(15): 2283-2293 [PMID: 37124884 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v29.i15.2283]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Masaki Honda, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Transplantation and Pediatric Surgery, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan. honda.masaki@kuh.kumamoto-u.ac.jp
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastroenterol. Apr 21, 2023; 29(15): 2283-2293 Published online Apr 21, 2023. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v29.i15.2283
Mechanisms of gastrointestinal barrier dysfunction in COVID-19 patients
Weijie Xue, Masaki Honda, Taizo Hibi
Weijie Xue, Masaki Honda, Taizo Hibi, Department of Transplantation and Pediatric Surgery, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan
Author contributions: Xue W and Honda M designed the research; Xue W and Honda M performed the research; Xue W, Honda M and Hibi T analyzed the data; Xue W and Honda M wrote the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflict of interests for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Masaki Honda, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Transplantation and Pediatric Surgery, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan. honda.masaki@kuh.kumamoto-u.ac.jp
Received: December 29, 2022 Peer-review started: December 29, 2022 First decision: February 1, 2023 Revised: February 13, 2023 Accepted: March 29, 2023 Article in press: March 29, 2023 Published online: April 21, 2023
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a major global public health event, resulting in a significant social and economic burden. Although COVID-19 was initially characterized as an upper respiratory and pulmonary infection, recent evidence suggests that it is a complex disease including gastrointestinal symptoms, such as diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Moreover, it remains unclear whether the gastrointestinal symptoms are caused by direct infection of the gastrointestinal tract by SARS-CoV-2 or are the result of systemic immune activation and subsequent dysregulation of homeostatic mechanisms. This review provides a brief overview of the mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 disrupts the integrity of the gastrointestinal barrier including the mechanical barrier, chemical barrier, microbial barrier, and immune barrier.
Core Tip: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a major global public health event, resulting in a significant social and economic burden. Although COVID-19 was initially characterized as an upper respiratory and pulmonary infection, recent evidence suggests that it is a complex disease including gastrointestinal symptoms. Moreover, it remains unclear whether the gastrointestinal symptoms are caused by direct infection of the gastrointestinal tract by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or are the result of systemic immune activation and subsequent dysregulation of homeostatic mechanisms. This review provides a brief overview of the mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 disrupts gastrointestinal barrier integrity.
