PlagueWatch - Coronavirus (2024)

After more digging, this is a better article from Nature. It's not paywalled. It takes me back to Cell Bio with Bruce Kohorn. From reading this elaborate description of the mechanisms involved, it looks clear to me that Coronavirus probably can and probably does in some cases increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. Yikes.

It's more than biologically plausible, these researchers detail the complex mechanisms involved. I see evidence of the altered gene expression and inflammation ("tissue damage") all from the Discussion of this article. Here are some portions tldr

"These results suggest that pancreatic tissue damage following infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer through upregulation of genes involved in cancer development."

"Due to the lack of information about the effect of SARS-CoV-2 virus on the expression of different genes, we used datasets related to four SARS-CoV-2 family members in this study (Fig. 10). Gene ontology examination of overexpressed and downregulated genes showed that different biological and functional pathways are involved in infection with these groups of viruses. For example, the molecular function study on upregulated genes showed that the lowest p value was related to double-stranded RNA binding "(GO: 0003725). Various studies have highlighted the association between increased expression of RNA-binding proteins and cancer. In general, when an mRNA is transcribed, it undergoes many changes and modifications after transcription. These changes that are made with the help of RNA-binding proteins, can affect the ultimate fate of RNA. The composition of ribonucleoprotein complexes is different and dynamic depending on RNA processing. These proteins can bind to a wide range of RNAs through a variety of domains, such as the double stranded RNA binding domain (dsRBD). Obviously, changes in the expression pattern of RNA-binding proteins can profoundly affect cellular behaviour24. Recent studies have shown that altering the expression of these proteins by overexpression of oncogenes and downregulation of tumor suppressor proteins can play an important role in tumorigenesis. For example, the expression of the protein Adenosine deaminases acting on RNA 1 (ADAR1), which has dsRBD motifs, is increased in various cancers such as breast, colon, oesophagus, and etc. A recent study by SUN and colleagues showed that the expression of ADAR1 in pancreatic cancer was significantly higher than normal tissues25. Moreover, increased expression of this protein has been associated with poor prognosis of pancreatic cancer."

"In the present study, the molecular function analysis also showed a decreased expression of actin-binding proteins following infection by SARS-Cov-2 virus family members. Actin-binding proteins include a very wide range of proteins that play a central role in regulating the activity and organization of cytoskeleton actin27. In fact, in addition to maintaining cell structure, cell skeleton plays an important role in many cellular biological processes such as cell migration, cytokinesis, endocytosis, and morphogenesis, regulation of gene expression, response to DNA damage, nuclear structure preservation, and nucleocytoplasmic trafficking28. Numerous studies underscore the unbalanced expression of actin-binding and regulatory proteins in cancer.... ...Therefore, changes in the expression of these proteins after infection with SARS-CoV-2 virus families may result in cancer development. "

"In the present study, we surveyed the expression pattern of four selected hub genes in 10 common fatal cancers. Based on the TCGA database results, the expression levels of CREB1, PTEN, SMAD3, and CASP3 genes are up-regulated in the pancreatic adenocarcinoma. According to the reports, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as the main receptor of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is highly expressed on the cell surface of pancreatic cells including exocrine glands and pancreatic islets, making these cells an excellent target for the virus45. In a study conducted by Liu et al., the serum levels of amylase and lipase in 121 patients with COVID-19 were measured. According to their results, 1.85% of patients with mild forms of the disease showed high levels of amylase and lipase in their sera, while 17.91% and 16.41% of patients with severe form of COVID-19 exhibited high serum levels of amylase and lipase, respectively. Furthermore, in some of the patients, changes in the pancreas morphology such as increased size of pancreas and tissue damage were evident46. These results suggest that pancreatic tissue damage following infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer through upregulation of genes involved in cancer development. Further studies can provide more detailed information in this area."

So yeah, the inflammation part of your theory also sounds pretty spot on to me too.

Often wrong, never in doubt