Levels of 25-hydroxy Vitamin D3 and Vitamin D Receptor Polymorphism in Severe Dengue Cases from New Delhi

Abstract

Background: Dengue is the “phoenix” that never went to ashes. First identified in 1943, in Japan, dengue virus has worldwide distribution and is a grave public health concern in developing countries like India; Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among adults suspected of having dengue fever and attending Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi. Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism was completed for the detection of vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphism; Results: Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 (vitamin D) levels were found to be 1.6 times elevated in severe dengue cases as compared to healthy controls. Vitamin D levels were significantly higher in secondary infections compared to primary infections as well as secondary severe dengue cases as compared to secondary non-severe cases (p value < 0.05). A significant association of the T allele (rs2228570) was seen in severe dengue cases, while, when comparing the A/A with A/C and C/C genotypes (rs7975232) among dengue cases and healthy controls, the odds ratio was estimated to be 1.24 (0.55–2.75, p > 0.05) and 0.28 (0.08–0.96, p < 0.05) respectively; Conclusions: The present study is an attempt at decoding the role of vitamin D in dengue disease pathogenesis and exploring the role of genetic polymorphism in dengue disease pathogenesis.

Lower levels of vitamin D are associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and mortality in the Indian population: An observational study

“… State/ union territories Case/million Death/million Total no. of healthy subjects Mean 25(OH)D levels (ng/ml) References Andhra Pradesh 5530 50 1936 18 [32] , [33] , [34] , [35] , [36] Assam 2390 6 768 26 [37] , [38] , [39] Bihar 940 4 50 30 [40] Chandigarh 1830 27 878 34 [41] , [42] , [43] , [44] , [45] , [46] Delhi 8970 249 2919 15 [47] , [48] , [49] , [50] , [51] , [52] , [53] , [54] , [55] , [56] , [57] , [58] , [59] , [60] , [61] , [62] , [63] , [64] , [65] , [66] , [67] , [68] Goa 7520 64 …”

The vitamin D receptor agonist EB1089 can exert its antiviral activity independently of the vitamin D receptor

“…However, in contrast to these studies, a study undertaken in Colombia showed that lower vitamin D levels were associated with decreased odds of progression of DF patients to DHF/DSS [ 58 ], while another study reported that vitamin D levels were higher in DF and DHF patients as compared to normal controls [ 59 ]. A third study on adults with non-severe or severe cases of dengue found vitamin D levels were elevated in both non-severe and severe cases as compared to healthy controls [ 60 ]. Thus, there remains no consensus on the association between vitamin D serostatus and either infection or severity.…”

“…Similarly, while Alagarasu and colleagues [ 59 ] found a significantly lower frequency of the ‘C’ allele of the rs7975232 polymorphism in dengue patients as compared to healthy controls, Singh and colleagues [ 65 ] found the GG genotype at this position to be higher in patients than controls. However, both studies by Alagarasu and colleagues [ 59 ] and Chakravarti and colleagues [ 60 ] showed that the “T” allele at rs2228570 was associated with severe dengue.…”

“…Around 60 polymorphisms in the promoter, coding exons and 3'untranslated region (3'-UTR) have been characterized [62,63]. A number of studies have looked for associations between polymorphisms in the VDR gene and dengue [59,60,64,65], as with studies investigating levels of vitamin D [53,55,56,[58][59][60], there are inconsistencies within the literature. For example, while Loke and colleagues [64] found the less frequent "t" allele at position 352 of VDR (the TaqI polymorphism; rs731236), was associated with resistance to severe dengue, Singh and colleagues [65] found that the CC genotype at this position was found more frequently in dengue patients than in controls.…”