Kotsev SV, Miteva D, Krayselska S, Shopova M, Pishmisheva-Peleva M, Stanilova SA, Velikova T. Hypotheses and facts for genetic factors related to severe COVID-19. World J Virol 2021; 10(4): 137-155 [PMID: 34367930 DOI: 10.5501/wjv.v10.i4.137]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Tsvetelina Velikova, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Immunology, University Hospital Lozenetz, Kozyak 1 Street, Sofia 1407, Bulgaria. tsvelikova@medfac.mu-sofia.bg
Research Domain of This Article
Infectious Diseases
Article-Type of This Article
Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Virol. Jul 25, 2021; 10(4): 137-155 Published online Jul 25, 2021. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v10.i4.137
Hypotheses and facts for genetic factors related to severe COVID-19
Stanislav Vasilev Kotsev, Dimitrina Miteva, Stanislava Krayselska, Martina Shopova, Maria Pishmisheva-Peleva, Spaska Angelova Stanilova, Tsvetelina Velikova
Stanislav Vasilev Kotsev, Martina Shopova, Maria Pishmisheva-Peleva, Department of Infectious Diseases, Pazardzhik Multiprofile Hospital for Active Treatment, Pazardzhik 4400, Bulgaria
Dimitrina Miteva, Department of Genetics, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Sofia 1000, Bulgaria
Stanislava Krayselska, Private Practice General Praxis, Sofia 1113, Bulgaria
Spaska Angelova Stanilova, Department of Molecular Biology, Immunology and Medical Genetics, Medical Faculty, Trakia University, Stara Zagora 6000, Bulgaria
Tsvetelina Velikova, Department of Clinical Immunology, University Hospital Lozenetz, Sofia 1407, Bulgaria
Tsvetelina Velikova, Medical Faculty, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Sofia 1407, Bulgaria
Author contributions: All the authors wrote sections in the paper; all authors revised and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflict of interests for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Tsvetelina Velikova, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Immunology, University Hospital Lozenetz, Kozyak 1 Street, Sofia 1407, Bulgaria. tsvelikova@medfac.mu-sofia.bg
Received: February 28, 2021 Peer-review started: February 28, 2021 First decision: May 5, 2021 Revised: May 19, 2021 Accepted: May 23, 2021 Article in press: May 23, 2021 Published online: July 25, 2021 Processing time: 142 Days and 23 Hours
Abstract
Genome-wide association analysis allows the identification of potential candidate genes involved in the development of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Hence, it seems that genetics matters here, as well. Nevertheless, the virus's nature, including its RNA structure, determines the rate of mutations leading to new viral strains with all epidemiological and clinical consequences. Given these observations, we herein comment on the current hypotheses about the possible role of the genes in association with COVID-19 severity. We discuss some of the major candidate genes that have been identified as potential genetic factors associated with the COVID-19 severity and infection susceptibility: HLA, ABO, ACE2, TLR7, ApoE, TYK2, OAS, DPP9, IFNAR2, CCR2, etc. Further study of genes and genetic variants will be of great benefit for the prevention and assessment of the individual risk and disease severity in different populations. These scientific data will serve as a basis for the development of clinically applicable diagnostic and prognostic tests for patients at high risk of COVID-19.
Core Tip: Understanding what contributes to the development of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can be of considerable clinical and therapeutic advantage. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection may present with different COVID-19 manifestations, where various host genetic factors influence the viral susceptibility, immune response, disease progression, and outcomes. Genome-wide association analysis allows the identification of potential candidate genes involved in the development of severe COVID-19. Hence, it seems that genetics matters here, as well.
