Analysis of Gene Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in COVID-19 Disease Highlighting the Susceptibility and the Severity towards the Infection
Mario Giosuè Balzanelli, Pietro Distratis, Rita Lazzaro, Van Hung Pham, Cong Toai Tran, Gianna Dipalma, Angelica Bianco, Emilio Maria Serlenga, Sergey K. Aityan, Valentina Pierangeli, Christine Nguyen, Francesco Inchingolo, Diego Tomassone, Ciro Gargiulo Isacco
Abstract
Many factors may influence the risk of being infected by SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Exposure to the virus cannot explain the variety of an individual’s responses to the virus and the high differences of effect that the virus may cause to some. While a person’s preexisting condition and their immune defenses have been confirmed to play a major role in the disease progression, there is still much to learn about hosts’ genetic makeup towards COVID-19 susceptibility and risk. The host genetic makeup may have direct influence on the grade of predisposition and outcomes of COVID-19. In this study, we aimed to investigate the presence of relevant genetic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), the peripheral blood level of IL6, vitamin D and arterial blood gas (ABG) markers (pH, oxygen-SpO2 and carbon dioxide-SpCO2) on two groups, COVID-19 (n = 41, study), and the healthy (n = 43, control). We analyzed cytokine and interleukin genes in charge of both pro-inflammatory and immune-modulating responses and those genes that are considered involved in the COVID-19 progression and complications. Thus, we selected major genes, such as IL1β, IL1RN (IL-1 β and α receptor) IL6, IL6R (IL-6 receptor), IL10, IFNγ (interferon gamma), TNFα (tumor necrosis factor alpha), ACE2 (angiotensin converting enzyme), SERPINA3 (Alpha-1-Antiproteinase, Antitrypsin member of Serpin 3 family), VDR (vitamin D receptor Tak1, Bsm1 and Fok1), and CRP (c-reactive protein). Though more research is needed, these findings may give a better representation of virus pleiotropic activity and its relation to the immune system.