Correlation between interleukin gene polymorphisms and current prevalence and mortality rates due to novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐2019) in 23 countries

Abstract

Background The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) infection may rely on a potential genetic background for the variations in the inflammatory response. We aimed to investigate the possible correlation between polymorphisms in the IL‐6 gene at rs1800796/rs1800795, in IL‐6R at rs2228145, in IL‐10 at rs1800896 and rs1800871, in IL‐17 at rs2275913 and rs763780 loci, and COVID‐19 prevalence and mortality rates among populations of 23 countries. Methods We searched the literature for polymorphisms in China, Japan, India, Spain, Mexico, Sweden, Turkey, Brazil, Russia, Poland, Italy, South Africa, Netherlands, Greece, Germany, UK, Iran, Finland, Czechia, Tunisia, Norway, Egypt, Croatia. We recorded the prevalence and mortality rates (per million) caused by the Coronavirus infection recorded on 7th September 2020 and 6th December 2020. Results There was a significant positive correlation between the frequency of AG genotype of rs1800896 and prevalence recorded on 6th December 2020 ( r : 0.53, r 2 : 0.28, p < .05). There was a significant negative correlation between the mortality rates recorded on 7th September, and the AG genotype of rs2275913 ( r : −0.51, r 2 : 0.26, p < .05). There was a significant positive correlation between the prevalence recorded on 6th December, and TT genotype at rs763780 ( r : 0.65, r 2 :0.42, p < .05) while a negative correlation between prevalence and TC genotype at rs763780 ( r : −0.66, r 2 : 0.43, p < .05). Also, a significant negative correlation was found between mortality rates recorded on 6th December 2020 and CC genotype at rs763780 ( r : −0.56, r 2 : 0.31, p < .05). Conclusion The variations in prevalence of COVID‐19 and its mortality rates among countries may be explained by the polymorphisms at rs1800896 in IL‐10 , rs2275913 in IL‐17A , and rs763780 loci in the IL‐17F gene.

Cumulative Evidence for Associations Between Genetic Variants in Interleukin 6 Receptor Gene and Human Diseases and Phenotypes

“…These two models of signaling can mediate the anti-inflammatory (classic signaling) and pro-inflammatory (trans-signaling) response of IL-6 ( 37 , 38 ). By specifically binding to IL-6, IL-6/IL-6R signaling plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of many diseases, including COVID-2019 ( 4 , 7 , 9 , 10 ).…”

“…Its gene production, IL-6R, could specifically bind to its ligand (IL-6) and subsequently recruit two molecules of glycoprotein 130 (gp130) to initiate intercellular signaling ( 2 , 3 ). IL-6/IL-6R/gp130 signaling is implicated in the development of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, including novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ( 4 ).…”

Association of the IL-6R gene polymorphic variant rs2228145(C>A) with IL-6 gene polymorphisms in a healthy cohort of Turkish population

“…In a more recent study, we investigated the correlation between interleukin gene polymorphisms and the prevalence and mortality rates due to COVID‐2019 in 23 countries, and the analysis between the frequencies of rs1800796/rs1800795 polymorphism in IL‐6 gene and rs2228145 polymorphism in IL‐6R gene, and the prevalence of COVID‐19 and mortality rates per country demonstrated that there was no significant correlation between the prevalence and mortality rates, and the frequencies of polymorphisms found in these genes [ 32 ]. However, the metabolic effects of these variants in healthy individuals remains unclear.…”

Is There a Relationship Between ADHD and COVID-19 Prevalence and Mortality Indices? An Analysis of Data From 156 Countries

“…These changes include lower levels of cortisol, elevated levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP), and reduced levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in children and adolescents (Chang et al, 2020, 2021; Elsadek et al, 2020; Krahel et al, 2021), though these findings have not been consistent in adult patients (de Jong et al, 2016). The association with IL-6 is of particular interest, because genetic variants affecting the expression of IL-6 have been associated with variations in cross-national prevalence of COVID-19 (Karcioglu Batur & Hekim, 2021). Though it is not known if variants in the IL-6 gene and related immune genes are associated with ADHD (van Dongen et al, 2019), this hypothesis merits further investigation, as it may explain the finding of a possible “protective” effect (Arbel et al, 2020) despite the higher likelihood of “risky” behaviors in persons with ADHD.…”