The association of cytokine gene polymorphisms with the development and course of COVID-19

Objective: to study polymorphic variants of IL-2 (T330G), IL-10 (A592C), IL-6 (rs180795), INF a/b receptor (rs9984273), INFL4 (rs368234815), INFL3 (rs12979860), INF-γ (rs2430561) genes in COVID-19 patients to determine the risk of development and severity of the disease.

Materials and methods: genetic analysis of the studied gene polymorphisms was performed in 172 patients with COVID-19 (group 1 – with mild, group 2 – with moderate and group 3 – with severe and extremely severe degrees of severity). The control group consisted of 40 healthy donors. Statistical processing of the obtained results was carried out with the help of STATISTICA 12.0 programs.

Results: It was found that genotypes were significantly more frequent in COVID-19 patients compared to controls: TT of IL-2 gene (T330G), T/TT polymorphism of INFL4 gene (rs368234815), T/T polymorphismof INFL3 gene(rs12979860), A/A polymorphism of INF-γ gene (rs2430561). In the group of patients with mild severity, genotype G/G polymorphism of IL-2 (T330G) and genotype C/T polymorphism of INF a/b receptor (rs9984273) were significantly more frequent compared to patients with moderate severity. When comparing the group with a mild course of the disease in comparison with the group with a severe and extremely severe course of the disease, an increase in the occurrence of genotypes T/G polymorphism of IL-2 (T330G) and A/A polymorphism of INF-γ (rs2430561) was revealed.

Conclusions: significantly high occurrence of genotype TT polymorphism of IL-2 gene (T330G), T/TT polymorphism of INFL4 gene (rs368234815), genotype T/T polymorphism of INFL3 gene (rs12979860) and genotype A/A polymorphism of INF-γ gene (rs2430561) in patients with COVID-19 may indicate their role in the risk of disease development. Differences in T/G and G/G genotypes of IL-2 gene (T330G), C/T of INF a/b -receptor gene (rs9984273), T/T of IFNL3 gene (rs12979860) and A/A of INF-1γ gene (rs2430561) may play a role in the development of severe COVID-19.

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