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. 2023 Aug 22;15(9):1784.
doi: 10.3390/v15091784.

Innate Immune Gene Polymorphisms and COVID-19 Prognosis

Evangelos Bakaros  1 , Ioanna Voulgaridi  2 , Vassiliki Paliatsa  1 , Nikolaos Gatselis  3 , Georgios Germanidis  4 , Evangelia Asvestopoulou  1 , Stamatia Alexiou  1 , Elli Botsfari  1 , Vasiliki Lygoura  3 , Olga Tsachouridou  4 , Iordanis Mimtsoudis  4 , Maria Tseroni  5 , Styliani Sarrou  1 , Varvara A Mouchtouri  2 , Katerina Dadouli  2 , Fani Kalala  1 , Simeon Metallidis  4 , George Dalekos  3 , Christos Hadjichristodoulou  2 , Matthaios Speletas  1
Affiliations

Innate Immune Gene Polymorphisms and COVID-19 Prognosis

Evangelos Bakaros et al. Viruses. .

Abstract

COVID-19 is characterized by a heterogeneous clinical presentation and prognosis. Risk factors contributing to the development of severe disease include old age and the presence of comorbidities. However, the genetic background of the host has also been recognized as an important determinant of disease prognosis. Considering the pivotal role of innate immunity in the control of SARS-CoV-2 infection, we analyzed the possible contribution of several innate immune gene polymorphisms (including TLR2-rs5743708, TLR4-rs4986790, TLR4-rs4986791, CD14-rs2569190, CARD8-rs1834481, IL18-rs2043211, and CD40-rs1883832) in disease severity and prognosis. A total of 249 individuals were enrolled and further divided into five (5) groups, according to the clinical progression scale provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) (asymptomatic, mild, moderate, severe, and critical). We identified that elderly patients with obesity and/or diabetes mellitus were more susceptible to developing pneumonia and respiratory distress syndrome after SARS-CoV-2 infection, while the IL18-rs1834481 polymorphism was an independent risk factor for developing pneumonia. Moreover, individuals carrying either the TLR2-rs5743708 or the TLR4-rs4986791 polymorphisms exhibited a 3.6- and 2.5-fold increased probability for developing pneumonia and a more severe disease, respectively. Our data support the notion that the host's genetic background can significantly affect COVID-19 clinical phenotype, also suggesting that the IL18-rs1834481, TLR2-rs5743708, and TLR4-rs4986791 polymorphisms may be used as molecular predictors of COVID-19 clinical phenotype.

Keywords: CARD8; CD14; CD40; COVID-19; IL18; TLR2; TLR4; innate immunity; polymorphism; prognosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Risk factors that contributed to pneumonia development in our cohort of COVID-19 patients (Created with BioRender.com, accessed on 3 December 2022).
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