Association of Toll-like receptor-4 polymorphism with SARS CoV-2 infection in Kurdish Population

Genetic variations are critical for understanding clinical outcomes of infections including server acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2). The immunological reactions of human immune genes with SARS CoV-2 have been under investigation. Toll-like receptors (TLRs), a group of proteins, are important for microbial detections including bacteria and viruses. TLR4 can sense both bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and endogenous oxidized phospholipids triggered by Covid-19 infection. Two TLR4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile have been linked to infectious diseases. No studies have focused on these SNPs in association with Covid-19. This study aims to reveal the association between Covid-19 infection with these SNPs by comparing a group of patients and a general population. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) were used to identify the TLR4 SNPs in both the general population (n = 114) and Covid-19 patient groups (n = 125). The results found no association between the TLR4 polymorphisms and Covid-19 infections as the data showed no statistically significant difference between the compared groups. This suggested that these TLR4 SNPs may not be associated with Covid-19 infections.

Association of Apolipoprotein e polymorphism with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS CoV-2). The disease resulted in global morbidity and mortality that led to considering as pandemic. The human body response to COVID-19 infection was massively different from being asymptomatic to developing severe symptoms. Host genetic factors are thought to be one of the reasons for these disparities in body responses. Few studies have suggested that Apolipoprotein Epsilon (Apo E) is a candidate gene for playing roles in the development of the disease symptoms. This work aims to find an association between different Apo E genotypes and alleles to COVID-19 infection comparing a general population and a group of COVID-19 patients. For the first time, the results found that Apo E4 is associated with COVID-19 disease in a Kurdish population of Iraq. Further study is required to reveal this association in different ethnic backgrounds all over the world.

Rapid, inexpensive methods for exploring SARS CoV-2 D614G mutation.

A common mutation has occurred in the spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2), known as D614G (A23403G). There are discrepancies in the impact of this mutation on the virus's infectivity. Also, the whole genome sequencings are expensive and time-consuming. This study aims to develop three fast economical assays for prompt identifications of the D614G mutation including Taqman probe-based real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT PCR), an amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) RT and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), in nasopharyngeal swab samples. Both rRT and ARMS data showed G614 mutants indicated by the presence of HEX probe and 176 bp, respectively. Additionally, the results of the RFLP data and DNA sequencings confirmed the prevalence of the G614 mutants. These methods will be important, in epidemiological, reinfections and zoonotic aspects, through detecting the G614 mutant in retro-perspective samples to track its origins and future re-emergence of D614 wild type.