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The Relationship between COVID-19 Severity in Children and Immunoregulatory Gene Polymorphism

Kateryna Kozak1, Halyna Pavlyshyn1, Oleksandr Kamyshnyi2

  • 1Department of Pediatrics No. 2, I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University, 46001 Ternopil, Ukraine.

Viruses
|October 28, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Genetic factors and male sex are linked to severe COVID-19 and MIS-C in children. Specific gene variants in ACE2, IFNAR2, OAS1, CD40, and CASP3 increase risk.

Area of Science:

  • Genetics
  • Pediatrics
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) presents a significant global health challenge, with variable severity in children, ranging from asymptomatic to fatal outcomes.
  • Predicting disease severity in pediatric COVID-19 cases is crucial for effective management and resource allocation.
  • Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a serious complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify human genetic factors associated with severe COVID-19 and MIS-C in children.
  • To investigate the role of specific single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in key genes related to immune response and viral entry.

Main Methods:

  • A case-control study involving pediatric patients with mild/moderate COVID-19, severe COVID-19/MIS-C, and healthy controls.
  • Analysis of SNPs in genes including ACE2, IFNAR2, TYK2, OAS1, OAS3, CD40, FCGR2A, and CASP3.

Main Results:

  • Specific alleles in ACE2 (rs2074192 T), IFNAR2 (rs2236757 A), OAS1 (rs10774671 A), CD40 (rs4813003 C), and CASP3 (rs113420705 C) were significantly associated with severe COVID-19 and MIS-C.
  • Male sex was also identified as a contributing factor to severe disease outcomes.
  • These genetic factors and male sex collectively explained 85.6% of severe COVID-19 and MIS-C cases in the study cohort.

Conclusions:

  • Certain genetic variations and male sex are strong predictors of severe COVID-19 and MIS-C in children.
  • Findings contribute to understanding SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis in pediatric populations.
  • Results support proactive pediatric patient management strategies for COVID-19.

Keywords:
ACE2CASP3CD40COVID-19FCGR2AIFNAR2OAS1OAS3TYK2children

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