Yasmina Kattou // Photo credit: MARTIN BUREAU / AFP 11:54 a.m., January 03, 2024

But what promotes Covid-19 infection? According to INSERM researchers, soda disease, which refers to an accumulation of fat in the liver, promotes the entry of the virus into the body: in question, an enzyme that multiplies in a person with a fatty liver and which serves as a gateway to Covid.

What if your liver is too fatty? About one in five French people is affected by this phenomenon, better known as soda disease or NASH. It refers to an accumulation of fat in the liver cells. Worldwide, nearly one billion people are estimated to be affected by this disease.

But would having a fatty liver promote the contraction of Covid-19? Researchers at the Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Cancer in Rennes, part of the INSERM researchers, looked into the question and discovered that the fat accumulated in the liver cells leads to the overproduction of an enzyme in the body. This protein is involved in the regulation of blood pressure, but it also allows Covid to better attach itself to cells.

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"It's like increasing the number of front doors in a house"

"This enzyme is the receptor that SARS-CoV-2 uses to infect cells. It's like increasing the number of front doors in a house. The more front doors there are in a house, the easier it is to get in. In the same way, if we add entry points for the virus into the cells, infection will be facilitated," Orlando Musso, a researcher at INSERM and head of the study, told Europe 1 radio.

Severe forms of Covid would therefore be more important in people with fatty liver disease. This discovery shows the value of limiting the production of this enzyme. To achieve this, this requires a healthy liver through a diet that is lower in fat and less sugar.