HDL-Related Parameters and COVID-19 Mortality: The Importance of HDL Function.

COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, emerged as a global pandemic in late 2019, resulting in significant global public health challenges. The emerging evidence suggests that diminished high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels are associated with the severity of COVID-19, beyond inflammation and oxidative stress. Here, we used nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to compare the lipoprotein and metabolic profiles of COVID-19-infected patients with non-COVID-19 pneumonia. We compared the control group and the COVID-19 group using inflammatory markers to ensure that the differences in lipoprotein levels were due to COVID-19 infection. Our analyses revealed supramolecular phospholipid composite (SPC), phenylalanine, and HDL-related parameters as key discriminators between COVID-19-positive and non-COVID-19 pneumonia patients. More specifically, the levels of HDL parameters, including apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I), ApoA-II, HDL cholesterol, and HDL phospholipids, were significantly different. These findings underscore the potential impact of HDL-related factors in patients with COVID-19. Significantly, among the HDL-related metrics, the cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC) displayed the strongest negative association with COVID-19 mortality. CEC is a measure of how well HDL removes cholesterol from cells, which may affect the way SARS-CoV-2 enters cells. In summary, this study validates previously established markers of COVID-19 infection and further highlights the potential significance of HDL functionality in the context of COVID-19 mortality.

The Association of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior with Maternal and Cord Blood Anti-Oxidative Capacity and HDL Functionality: Findings of DALI Study.

Obesity is one of the most common health issues in pregnancy with short and long-term consequences for both mother and her offspring. Promoting moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and decreasing sedentary time (ST) could have a positive impact on weight and obesity management, and therefore adiposity-induced oxidative stress, inflammation, and atherogenesis. However, the effects of MVPA and ST on anti-oxidative and anti-atherogenic markers in pregnancy have not been studied to date. This study aimed to assess the association of longitudinally and objectively measured MVPA and ST in 122 overweight/obese women (BMI ≥ 29 kg/m2) with maternal and cord blood markers of oxidative stress measured by advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP), anti-oxidative capacity, as well as high-density lipoproteins (HDL) related paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) activity and cholesterol efflux. Linear regression models showed no associations of MVPA and ST with outcomes in maternal blood. In contrast, MVPA at <20 weeks and 24-28 weeks of gestation were positively associated with anti-oxidative capacity, as well as PON-1 activity of HDL in cord blood. MVPA at 35-37 weeks correlated with higher AOPP, as well as higher anti-oxidative capacity. ST <20 weeks was also positively associated with inhibition of oxidation in cord blood. We speculate that increasing MVPA of overweight/obese women during pregnancy attenuates the oxidative stress state in the new-born.

Obesity Affects Maternal and Neonatal HDL Metabolism and Function.

Pregravid obesity is one of the major risk factors for pregnancy complications such as gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and an increased risk of cardiovascular events in children of affected mothers. However, the biological mechanisms that underpin these adverse outcomes are not well understood. High-density lipoproteins (HDLs) are antiatherogenic by promoting the efflux of cholesterol from macrophages and by suppression of inflammation. Functional impairment of HDLs in obese and GDM-complicated pregnancies may have long-term effects on maternal and offspring health. In the present study, we assessed metrics of HDL function in sera of pregnant women with overweight/obesity of the DALI lifestyle trial (prepregnancy BMI ≥ 29 kg/m2) and women with normal weight (prepregnancy BMI < 25 kg/m2), as well as HDL functionalities in cord blood at delivery. We observed that pregravid obesity was associated with impaired serum antioxidative capacity and lecithin−cholesterol acyltransferase activity in both mothers and offspring, whereas maternal HDL cholesterol efflux capacity was increased. Interestingly, functionalities of maternal and fetal HDL correlated robustly. GDM did not significantly further alter the parameters of HDL function and metabolism in women with obesity, so obesity itself appears to have a major impact on HDL functionality in mothers and their offspring.