COVID-19 in Africa: an ovarian victory?

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mainly attacks the respiratory system and is characterized by pneumonia, cytokine storm, coagulation disorders and severe immune downregulation. Although public health experts predicted worst o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of ovarian research Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 70 - 13
Main Authors:	Dufailu, Osman A, Afriyie-Asante, Afrakoma, Gyan, Bernard, Kwabena, David Adu, Yeboah, Helena, Ntiakoh, Frank, Asare-Werehene, Meshach
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England BioMed Central Ltd 21-05-2021 BioMed Central BMC
Subjects:	Africa Africa - epidemiology Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 - metabolism Black or African American Comparative analysis Coronaviruses COVID-19 COVID-19 - epidemiology COVID-19 - etiology COVID-19 - mortality COVID-19 Drug Treatment COVID-19 Testing - methods COVID-19 Testing - trends COVID-19 vaccines Cytokine Release Syndrome - etiology Cytokine storm Cytokines Disease prevention Disease transmission Endoplasmic reticulum Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Epidemics Estrogen Estrogen receptors Estrogens Estrogens - metabolism Estrogens - pharmacology Fatalities Female Health aspects Humans Incidence Infections Inflammation Lifestyles Male Medical research Medical supplies Medicine, Experimental Mortality Mortality rate Ovary Pandemics Public health Race Factors Reproductive status Respiratory system Review SARS-CoV-2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Sex Factors Sub-Saharan Africa Surveillance Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Western Sahara Europe Egypt Libya Morocco Asia China South Africa Algeria Comoro Islands Nigeria Tunisia Ethiopia COVID-19 Ovary SARS-CoV-2 Mortality rate Africa Estrogen Pro-inflammation cytokine
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Summary:	Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mainly attacks the respiratory system and is characterized by pneumonia, cytokine storm, coagulation disorders and severe immune downregulation. Although public health experts predicted worst outcomes in Africa, the incidence, hospitalization and mortality rates have been lower in Africa compared to other continents. Interestingly, lower incidence and mortality rates have been observed in women from Africa compared to their cohorts from other continents. Also, in the US non-Hispanic Black females have lower COVID-19 and death rates compared to their white counterparts. It's unclear why this significant difference exists; however, the ovarian function, genetics and immunological statuses could play a major role. Women of African descent have elevated levels of estrogen compared with Caucasians hence we anticipate that estrogen might offer some protection against the SARS-CoV-2 infections. The racial differences in lifestyle, age and inaccessibility to contraceptive usage might also play a role. Here, we provide insight on how the high levels of estrogen in African women might contribute to the lower cases and fatalities in Africa. Specifically, estrogen might offer protection against COVID-19 by suppressing hyper-production of cytokines, promoting anti-inflammatory cytokines, stimulating antibody production and suppressing endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. This will as well provide useful information on how future pandemics could be managed using Africa as a case study.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 ObjectType-Review-3 content type line 23
ISSN:	1757-2215 1757-2215
DOI:	10.1186/s13048-021-00820-1