Adverse effect of VEGFR-2 (rs1870377) polymorphism on the clinical course of COVID-19 in females and males in an age-dependent manner.

Microbes and infection 2023 Nov-Dec

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The COVID-19 pandemic has affected people worldwide with varying clinical presentations ranging from mild to severe or fatal, and studies have found that age, gender, and some comorbidities can influence the severity of the disease. It would be valuable to have genetic markers that might help predict the likely outcome of infection. For this objective, genes encoding VEGFR-2 (rs1870377), CCR5Δ32 (rs333), and TLR3 (rs5743313) were analyzed for polymorphisms in the peripheral blood of 160 COVID-19 patients before COVID-19 vaccine was available in Türkiye. We observed that possession of the VEGFR-2 rs1870377 mutant allele increased the risk of severe/moderate disease in females and subjects ≥65 years of age, but was protective in males <65 years of age. Other significant results were that the CCR5Δ32 allele was protective against severe disease in subjects ≥65 years of age, while TLR3 rs5743313 polymorphism was found to be protective against severe/moderate illness in males <65 years of age. The VEGFR-2 rs1870377 mutant allele was a risk factor for severe/moderate disease, particularly in females over the age of 65. These findings suggest that genetic polymorphisms have an age- and sex-dependent influence on the severity of COVID-19, and the VEGFR-2 rs1870377 mutant allele could be a potential predictor of disease severity. Copyright © 2023 Institut Pasteur. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Citation

Derya Beyza Sayın Kocakap, Sedat Kaygusuz, Emel Aksoy, Ömer Şahin, Ayşe Baççıoğlu, Aydanur Ekici, Ayşe Füsun Kalpaklıoğlu, Mehmet Savaş Ekici, Serdar Gül, Birgül Kaçmaz, Ergin Ayaşlıoğlu Açıkgöz, Sibel Alyılmaz Bekmez, Barry T Rouse, Ahmet Kürşat Azkur. Adverse effect of VEGFR-2 (rs1870377) polymorphism on the clinical course of COVID-19 in females and males in an age-dependent manner. Microbes and infection. 2023 Nov-Dec;25(8):105188