Association of the IIFNG/I +874T/A Polymorphism with Symptomatic COVID-19 Susceptibility

• Published in: Viruses Vol. 16; no. 4
• Main Authors: Sarges, Kevin Matheus Lima de, Póvoa da Costa, Flávia, Santos, Erika Ferreira dos, Cantanhede, Marcos Henrique Damasceno, da Silva, Rosilene, Veríssimo, Adriana de Oliveira Lameira, Viana, Maria de Nazaré do Socorro de Almeida, Rodrigues, Fabíola Brasil Barbosa, Leite, Mauro de Meira, Torres, Maria Karoliny da Silva, Bentes da Silva, Christiane, Brito, Mioni Thieli Figueiredo Magalhães de, Silva, Andréa Luciana Soares da, Henriques, Daniele Freitas, Vallinoto, Izaura Maria Vieira Cayres, Viana, Giselle Maria Rachid, Queiroz, Maria Alice Freitas, Vallinoto, Antonio Carlos Rosário, Santos, Eduardo José Melo dos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 01-04-2024
• Subjects: Analysis; Biological response modifiers; Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; Genetic aspects; Interferon; Interferon gamma; Physiological aspects; Single nucleotide polymorphisms; Tumor necrosis factor; Brazil; China
• ISSN: 1999-4915; 1999-4915
• DOI: 10.3390/v16040650

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interferon-gamma (IFNγ) are important inflammatory mediators in the development of cytokine storm syndrome (CSS). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) regulate the expression of these cytokines, making host genetics a key factor in the prognosis of COVID-19. In this study, we investigated the associations of the TNF -308G/A and IFNG +874T/A polymorphisms with COVID-19. We analyzed the frequencies of the two polymorphisms in the control groups (CG: TNF -308G/A, n = 497; IFNG +874T/A, n = 397), a group of patients with COVID-19 (CoV, n = 222) and among the subgroups of patients with nonsevere (n = 150) and severe (n = 72) COVID-19. We found no significant difference between the genotypic and allelic frequencies of TNF -308G/A in the groups analyzed; however, both the frequencies of the high expression genotype (TT) (CoV: 13.51% vs. CG: 6.30%; p = 0.003) and the *T allele (CoV: 33.56% vs. CG: 24. 81%; p = 0.001) of the IFNG +874T/A polymorphism were higher in the COVID-19 group than in the control group, with no differences between the subgroups of patients with nonsevere and severe COVID-19. The *T allele of IFNG +874T/A (rs2430561) is associated with susceptibility to symptomatic COVID-19. These SNPs provided valuables clues about the potential mechanism involved in the susceptibility to developing symptomatic COVID-19.