COVID-19: The Significance of Platelets, Mitochondria, Vitamin D, Serotonin and the Gut Microbiota

István Bókkon; Gábor Kapócs; András Vucskits; Attila Erdöfi-Szabó; Jan Vagedes; Felix Scholkmann; Henrik Szöke

doi:10.2174/0929867328666210526100147

COVID-19: The Significance of Platelets, Mitochondria, Vitamin D, Serotonin and the Gut Microbiota

Curr Med Chem. 2021;28(37):7634-7657. doi: 10.2174/0929867328666210526100147.

Authors

István Bókkon¹, Gábor Kapócs², András Vucskits³, Attila Erdöfi-Szabó⁴, Jan Vagedes⁵, Felix Scholkmann⁶, Henrik Szöke⁷

Affiliations

¹ Vision Research Institute, Neuroscience and Consciousness Research Department, Lowell, MA, United States.
² Buda Family-Centered Mental Health Centre, Department of Psychiatry and Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Budapest, Hungary.
³ Business Development Manager Eastern Europe at Phytobiotics, Budapest, Hungary.
⁴ BioLabor Biophysical- and Laboratories Services Ltd., Budapest, Hungary.
⁵ University of Tuebingen, Children's Hospital, Tuebingen, Germany.
⁶ Department of Neonatology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
⁷ Department of Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pecs, Pecs, Hungary.

PMID: 34042025
DOI: 10.2174/0929867328666210526100147

Abstract

We provide a brief review of the significance of platelets, mitochondria, vitamin D, serotonin, and the gut microbiome in COVID-19. We hypothesize that hyperactive platelets and mitochondrial dysfunction, as well as low vitamin D level, gut dysbiosis, and increased serum serotonin produced by enterochromaffin cells, may all represent important aspects in the pathophysiology of COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; Platelets; SARS-CoV-2.; gut-brain axis; mitochondria; serotonin; vitamin D.

MeSH terms

Blood Platelets
COVID-19*
Gastrointestinal Microbiome*
Humans
Mitochondria
SARS-CoV-2
Serotonin
Vitamin D

Substances

Vitamin D
Serotonin