BMC Medical Genomics (Oct 2023)

Association of HLA-DRB1*11 and HLA-DRB1*12 gene polymorphism with COVID-19 in Burkina Faso

  • Alfred Rakissida Ouedraogo,
  • Lassina Traoré,
  • Abdoul Karim Ouattara,
  • Alexis Rakiswende Ouedraogo,
  • Sidnooma Véronique Zongo,
  • Mousso Savadogo,
  • Tatiana Doriane Lallogo,
  • Herman Karim Sombie,
  • Pegdwendé Abel Sorgho,
  • Teega-wendé Clarisse Ouedraogo,
  • Florencia Wendkuuni Djigma,
  • Assita Sanou Lamien,
  • Albert Théophane Yonli,
  • Olga Mélanie Lompo,
  • Jacques Simporé

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12920-023-01684-8
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16, no. 1
pp. 1 – 7

Abstract

Read online

Abstract Background The clinical manifestations of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) can vary widely, ranging from asymptomatic to severe, and may be influenced by the host genetic background. The aim of the present study was to determine the frequencies of HLA-DRB1*11 and HLA-DRB1*12 allele polymorphisms and their associations with COVID-19. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 198 subjects were enrolled, including 150 COVID-19 positive cases and 48 subjects who tested negative for COVID-19. Participants were recruited from the emergency, intensive care, and infectious diseases departments of the Bogodogo Centre University Hospital (CHU-B) or the routine laboratory of Centre de Recherche Biomoléculaire Pietro Annigoni (CERBA). Genomic DNA was extracted from nasopharyngeal swabs samples and multiplex PCR-SSP was used to detect the HLA-DRB1*11 and HLA-DRB1*12 alleles. The study was approved by CERS (№ 2021-02-033). Results The positive cases were categorized into 38 asymptomatic (CC+), 60 symptomatic (NC+), and 52 severe cases (SC+). Females were more frequent in the overall study population (53.0%, 105/198) as well as in the negative group’s CC- (68.75%, 33/48) and SC+ (57.69%, 30/52 negative groups, whereas males were more frequent in the CC+ (63.16%, 24/38) and NC+ (53.33%, 32/60) groups. The highest mean age was observed in the SC + group. A frequency of 19.19% (38/198) and 14.65% (29/198) was found for the HLA-DRB1*11 and HLA-DRB1*12 alleles, respectively. Individuals carrying the HLA-DRB1*11 allele had an approximately sixfold higher risk of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR = 5.72 [1.683–19.442], p = 0.005) based on the association analysis. Conclusions Altogether, the present study reports high frequency of HLA-DRB1*11 and HLA-DRB1*12 alleles within a population from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The results suggest that individuals carrying the HLA-DRB1*11 allele are more susceptible to COVID-19 infection but may not display symptoms.

Keywords