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. 2020 Oct 15;9(10):3315.
doi: 10.3390/jcm9103315.

SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load, IFNλ Polymorphisms and the Course of COVID-19: An Observational Study

Emanuele Amodio  1 , Rosaria Maria Pipitone  1 , Stefania Grimaudo  1 , Palmira Immordino  1 , Carmelo Massimo Maida  1 , Tullio Prestileo  2 , Vincenzo Restivo  1 , Fabio Tramuto  1 , Francesco Vitale  1 , Antonio Craxì  1 , Alessandra Casuccio  1
Affiliations

SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load, IFNλ Polymorphisms and the Course of COVID-19: An Observational Study

Emanuele Amodio et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

The course of SARS-CoV-2 infection ranges from asymptomatic to a multiorgan disease. In this observational study, we investigated SARS-CoV-2 infected subjects with defined outcomes, evaluating the relationship between viral load and single nucleotide polymorphisms of genes codifying for IFNλs (interferon). The study enrolled 381 patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. For each patient, a standardized form was filled including sociodemographic variables and clinical outcomes. The host's gene polymorphisms (IFNL3 rs1297860 C/T and INFL4 rs368234815 TT/ΔG) and RtReal-Time PCR cycle threshold (PCR Ct) value on SARS-CoV-2 were assessed on nasal, pharyngeal or nasopharyngeal swabs. Higher viral loads were found in patients aged > 74 years and homozygous mutant polymorphisms DG in IFNL4 (adj-OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.01-1.34 and adj-OR = 1.24, 95% CI = 1.09-1.40, respectively). After adjusting for age and sex, a statistically significantly lower risk of hospitalization was observed in subjects with higher RtReal-Time PCR cycle threshold values (adj-OR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.91, 0.99; p = 0.028). Our data support the correlation between SARS-CoV-2 load and disease severity, and suggest that IFNλ polymorphisms could affect the ability of the host to modulate viral infection without a clear impact on the outcome of COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19 outcomes; IFNλs; SARS-CoV-2; single nucleotide polymorphisms; viral load.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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