Table 1. SARS-CoV-2 detection in adipose tissue from deceased individuals.

Quantification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection by PCR from autopsy cases 1 to 8. All individuals were positive for SARS-CoV-2 by nasal swab when admitted to the hospital. Threshold cycles (Ct) presented are an average of three SARS-CoV-2 gene sequences for open reading frame 1ab (ORF1ab), spike (S), and nucleocapsid (N). RNA was isolated from either epicardial, visceral, or subcutaneous fat. Heart RNA samples were collected from a mixture of myocardium and epicardium. Some participants were used in previously published studies assessing SARS-CoV-2 infection in lungs and heart ( 31 – 33 ). N/A, not available; UD, undetectable. Autopsies 9 and 10 were used for ISH as shown in Fig. 1. All Ct values presented are an average of ORF1ab, S, and N genes. All heart RNA samples were collected from a mixture of myocardium and epicardium. Any Ct value below 37 was considered a true SARS-CoV-2 signal. Autopsies labeled with (*) were from a separate cohort.

							RTqPCR for SARS-CoV-2 (Ct values)
Autopsy #	Sex	Age (years)	Ethnicity	BMI (kg/m2)	DHBD (Days)	Comorbidities	Lung	Heart	Kidney	Adipose	Type of adipose analyzed
1	F	84	C	24	12	CAD, HTN, metastatic lung CA, T2D, AKI, dementia	UD	UD	UD	UD	Epicardial
2	M	85	C	26	5	HTN, dyslipidemia, T2D, prostate CA in remission, OSA, cirrhosis, leukemia in remission	23	33	33	33	Visceral
3	F	81	C	26	4	CAD, HTN, PAD, AKI, former smoker	22	34	36	36	Visceral
4	M	71	C	24	NH	PAD, CAD, valvular heart disease, AKI	27	33	UD	33	Visceral
5	M	65	C	26	8	Dyslipidemia, CAD, COPD, HTN, T2D, OSA, AKI	23	34	34	33	Epicardial
6	M	89	C	N/A	5	CAD, cardiomyopathy, dyslipidemia, T2D, OSA, former smoker, COPD	21	31	N/A	28	Epicardial
7	M	85	N/A	30	5	Former smoker, HTN, cardiomyopathy, COPD, AKI, dementia	26	35	UD	34	Subcutaneous
8	M	58	C	47	7	Former smoker, HTN, obesity, CAD, CHF, AKI	35	37	33	36	Subcutaneous
9*	F	78	C	35.2	NH	obesity, AV-block III with pacemaker, HTN, cerebellar infarcts	N/A	N/A	N/A	34	Epicardial
10*	F	87	C	N/A	1	Dementia, obesity, CAD, HTN, T2D	N/A	N/A	N/A	32	Epicardial
Abbreviations: days of hospitalization before death (DHBD), not hospitalized (NH), not available (N/A), Caucasian (C), male (M), female (F), body mass index (BMI), coronary artery disease (CAD), hypertension (HTN), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), cancer (CA), acute renal insufficiency (AKI), obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), peripheral artery disease (PAD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure (CHF).