Obesity is a significant health issue, as it is related to human diseases such as asthma and respiratory viral infections. Asthma patients with obesity have more severe diseases, which can be presented with type 1 (e.g., IFN-γ) high inflammation. The interactions of obesity or saturated fatty acids (e.g., palmitic acid, PA) with IFN-γ in airway viral infections have not been clear. In this study, we determined the role of obesity risk factors high-fat diet (HFD) and PA in rhinovirus infection in the context of IFN-γ stimulation in mice and cultured human tracheobronchial epithelial cells. We further examined the therapeutic effect of a glycolytic inhibitor on metabolic reprogramming and viral infection in our experimental models. In mice, HFD in combination with IFN-γ significantly increased lung rhinovirus levels as well as neutrophilic inflammation. Similarly, PA and IFN-γ combination increased viral infection in mice, but HFD or PA alone had a minimal effect on viral infection. Mouse model data were confirmed in cultured primary healthy human airway epithelial cells where PA and IFN-γ together increased viral load. Mechanistically, HFD or PA in combination with IFN-γ up-regulated the glycolytic pathway and generated metabolites favoring viral replication. Inhibition of glycolysis by 2-DG effectively reduced viral infection in human airway epithelial cells. Our data suggest that hosts with obesity along with type 1 high inflammation may be at an increased risk of respiratory viral infections. Intervention of the glycolytic pathway or its metabolites may reduce the severity of viral infection.
Hartsoe et al. (2025) studied this question.