CD44 and metabolic disease: Independently of coexistent metabolic disorders such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, excessive adipose tissue increases the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection via enhancement of viral entry due to hyperexpression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 [17, 18], cell surface glucose–regulated protein 78 [19, 20], heparan sulfate proteoglycan [21, 22], and neuropilin-1 [23, 24].