COVID-19 and neurological sequelae: Vitamin D as a possible neuroprotective and/or neuroreparative agent

• Autores: Menéndez, Sebastián García; Martín Giménez, Virna Margarita; Holick, Michael F.; Barrantes, Francisco José; Manucha, Walter
• Año de publicación: 2022
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Fuente: Life Sciences. 2022, 297
• Materia: COVID-19; NEURODEGENERACION; NEUROINFLAMACION; VITAMINA D; PANDEMIA; VITAMINAS
• Institución: Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina

Fil: Menéndez, Sebastián García. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Área de Farmacología, Departamento de Patología. Laboratorio de Farmacología Experimental Básica y Traslacional; Argentina
Fil: Menéndez, Sebastián García. Consejo Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; Argentina
Fil: Martín Giménez, Virna Margarita. Universidad Católica de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas y Tecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Químicas; Argentina
Fil: Holick, Michael F. Boston University Medical Campus. Nutrition and Weight Management, Department of Medicine. Section of Endocrinology; Estados Unidos
Fil: Barrantes, Francisco José. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; Argentina
Fil: Barrantes, Francisco José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Manucha, Walter. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Área de Farmacología, Departamento de Patología. Laboratorio de Farmacología Experimental Básica y Traslacional; Argentina
Fil: Manucha, Walter. Consejo Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; Argentina
Abstract: SARS-CoV-2, the etiological agent of the current COVID-19 pandemic, belongs to a broad family of coronaviruses that also affect humans. SARS-CoV-2 infection usually leads to bilateral atypical pneumonia with significant impairment of respiratory function. However, the infectious capacity of SARS-CoV-2 is not limited to the respiratory system, but may also affect other vital organs such as the brain. The central nervous system is vulnerable to cell damage via direct invasion or indirect virus-related effects leading to a neuroinflammatory response, processes possibly associated with a decrease in the activity of angiotensin II converting enzyme (ACE2), the canonical cell-surface receptor for SARS-CoV-2. This enzyme regulates neuroprotective and neuroimmunomodulatory functions and can neutralize both inflammation and oxidative stress generated at the cellular level. Furthermore, there is evidence of an association between vitamin D deficiency and predisposition to the development of severe forms of COVID-19, with its possible neurological and neuropsychiatric sequelae: vitamin D has the ability to down-modulate the effects of neuroinflammatory cytokines, among other anti-inflammatory/immunomodulatory effects, thus attenuating harmful consequences of COVID-19. This review critically analyzes current evidence supporting the notion that vitamin D may act as a neuroprotective and neuroreparative agent against the neurological sequelae of COVID-19.