Association of the <i>IFNG</i> +874T/A Polymorphism with Symptomatic COVID-19 Susceptibility
Kevin Matheus Lima de Sarges,
Flávia Póvoa da Costa,
Erika Ferreira dos Santos,
Marcos Henrique Damasceno Cantanhede,
Rosilene da Silva,
Adriana de Oliveira Lameira Veríssimo,
Maria de Nazaré do Socorro de Almeida Viana,
Fabíola Brasil Barbosa Rodrigues,
Mauro de Meira Leite,
Maria Karoliny da Silva Torres,
Christiane Bentes da Silva,
Mioni Thieli Figueiredo Magalhães de Brito,
Andréa Luciana Soares da Silva,
Daniele Freitas Henriques,
Izaura Maria Vieira Cayres Vallinoto,
Giselle Maria Rachid Viana,
Maria Alice Freitas Queiroz,
Antonio Carlos Rosário Vallinoto,
Eduardo José Melo dos Santos
Affiliations
Kevin Matheus Lima de Sarges
Laboratory of Genetics of Complex Diseases, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Belem 66000-000, Brazil
Flávia Póvoa da Costa
Laboratory of Genetics of Complex Diseases, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Belem 66000-000, Brazil
Erika Ferreira dos Santos
Laboratory of Genetics of Complex Diseases, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Belem 66000-000, Brazil
Marcos Henrique Damasceno Cantanhede
Laboratory of Genetics of Complex Diseases, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Belem 66000-000, Brazil
Rosilene da Silva
Laboratory of Genetics of Complex Diseases, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Belem 66000-000, Brazil
Adriana de Oliveira Lameira Veríssimo
Center for Biological Health Sciences, State University of Pará, Tucuruí 68455-210, Brazil
Maria de Nazaré do Socorro de Almeida Viana
Laboratory of Genetics of Complex Diseases, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Belem 66000-000, Brazil
Fabíola Brasil Barbosa Rodrigues
Laboratory of Genetics of Complex Diseases, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Belem 66000-000, Brazil
Mauro de Meira Leite
Laboratory of Genetics of Complex Diseases, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Belem 66000-000, Brazil
Maria Karoliny da Silva Torres
Graduate Program in Biology of Infectious and Parasitic Agents, Federal University of Pará, Belem 66000-000, Brazil
Christiane Bentes da Silva
Laboratory of Genetics of Complex Diseases, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Belem 66000-000, Brazil
Mioni Thieli Figueiredo Magalhães de Brito
Laboratory of Genetics of Complex Diseases, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Belem 66000-000, Brazil
Andréa Luciana Soares da Silva
Laboratory of Genetics of Complex Diseases, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Belem 66000-000, Brazil
Daniele Freitas Henriques
Section of Arbovirology and Hemorrhagic Fevers, Evandro Chagas Institute, Health Surveillance Secretariat, Brazilian Ministry of Health, Ananindeua 67000-000, Brazil
Izaura Maria Vieira Cayres Vallinoto
Graduate Program in Biology of Infectious and Parasitic Agents, Federal University of Pará, Belem 66000-000, Brazil
Giselle Maria Rachid Viana
Malaria Basic Research Laboratory, Parasitology Section, Evandro Chagas Institute, Health Surveillance Secretariat, Brazilian Ministry of Health, Ananindeua 67000-000, Brazil
Maria Alice Freitas Queiroz
Graduate Program in Biology of Infectious and Parasitic Agents, Federal University of Pará, Belem 66000-000, Brazil
Antonio Carlos Rosário Vallinoto
Graduate Program in Biology of Infectious and Parasitic Agents, Federal University of Pará, Belem 66000-000, Brazil
Eduardo José Melo dos Santos
Laboratory of Genetics of Complex Diseases, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Belem 66000-000, Brazil
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.
