Biologists from Germany and Canada have found that the coronavirus is able to penetrate the cells of the pancreas, multiply inside them, causing disturbances in the glucose cycle in the human body. This was reported on Wednesday by TASS with reference to the results of the study.
“Observations of the health status of carriers of coronavirus show that the infection often causes disturbances in the glucose cycle in their body, but the reasons for this were unclear to us. We have shown that SARS-CoV-2 can penetrate both exocrine and endocrine cells of the pancreas, including beta cells that produce insulin,”the scientists write in an article published in the journal Nature Metabolism.
The researchers drew attention to the fact that many of those infected with COVID-19 disrupted the normal circulation of glucose in the blood.
They studied whether pancreatic cells produce ACE2 receptors and the TMPRSS protein, which are needed for the virus to penetrate, and investigated how cultures of these bodies interact with the causative agent of COVID-19.
It turned out that many types of cells in the pancreas, responsible for both the production and transport of hormones, including insulin, produced large amounts of both proteins. This made it possible for the coronavirus to penetrate and multiply inside cells, spreading from one to the other.
According to scientists, the penetration of COVID-19 into the cells of the beta islets leads to the development of disorders in the production of hormones. This, in turn, explains why many people infected with the coronavirus have disrupted glucose circulation and develop acute pancreatitis.
Earlier, doctors noticed that diabetes significantly increases the risk of death and is exacerbated during coronavirus infection.
