CCR5 Delta 32 Deletion as a Protective Factor in Czech First-Wave COVID-19 Subjects
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2021 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Physiological research |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://www.biomed.cas.cz/physiolres/pdf/2021/70_111.pdf |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.33549/physiolres.934647 |
| Keywords | COVID-19; CCR5; Polymorphism; Deletion; Delta 32 |
| Description | Infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19), has spread widely around the globe. Significant inter-individual differences have been observed during the course of the infection, which suggests that genetic susceptibility may be a contributing factor. CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5), which acts as a co-receptor for the entry of HIV-1 into cells, is promising candidate whose can have an influence on SARS-CoV-2 infection. A genetic mutation known as CCR5 Delta 32, consisting of a 32-nucleotide deletion, encodes a truncated protein that protects homozygous carriers of the deletion from HIV-1 infection. Similarly, inhibition of CCR5 seems to be protective against COVID-19. In our study, we successfully genotyped 416 first-wave SARS-CoV-2-positive infection survivors (164 asymptomatic and 252 symptomatic) for CCR5 Delta 32, comparing them with a population based sample of 2,404 subjects. We found the highest number (P=0.03) of CCR5 Delta 32 carriers in SARS-CoV-2-positive/COVID-19-asymptomatic subjects (23.8 %) and the lowest number in SARS-CoV-2-positive/COVID-19-symptomatic patients (16.7 %), with frequency in the control population in the middle (21.0 %). We conclude that the CCR5 Delta 32 I/D polymorphism may have the potential to predict the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection. |