ABSTRACT
The present cross-sectional study consists of a comprehensive analysis of epidemiological, laboratory, and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients in relation to their immunogenetic profiles. We studied 125 COVID-19 patients comprising different stages of disease severity; non-hospitalized (mild n = 69) and hospitalized (n = 56). Analysis of disease characteristics revealed no major differences between males and females of each group of patients while hospitalized patients were older and presented with comorbidities. A positive allele association was observed for HLA-DRB1*01 in total COVID-19 patients versus healthy controls. Subgrouping of COVID-19 patients in mild and hospitalized further identified a statistically significant increase in HLA-DRB1*01 in mild COVID-19 patients versus controls. The frequency of A*11, A*23, and DRB1*09 alleles was higher, while the frequency of C*12 was lower, in hospitalized patients versus healthy controls albeit with uncorrected statistical significance. The identification of specific allele associations may provide useful future markers for disease susceptibility in order to allow successful clinical management of COVID-19 patients.
ABSTRACT
We analysed data from 80 patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA who had previously been HLA typed to support transplantation. Data were combined from two adjacent centres in Manchester and Leeds to achieve a sufficient number for early analysis. HLA frequencies observed were compared against two control populations: first, against published frequencies in a UK deceased donor population (n = 10,000) representing the target population of the virus, and second, using a cohort of individuals from the combined transplant waiting lists of both centres (n = 308), representing a comparator group of unaffected individuals of the same demographic. We report a significant HLA association with HLA- DQB1*06 (53% vs. 36%; p < .012; OR 1.96; 95% CI 1.94-3.22) and infection. A bias towards an increased representation of HLA-A*26, HLA-DRB1*15, HLA-DRB1*10 and DRB1*11 was also noted but these were either only significant using the UK donor controls, or did not remain significant after correction for multiple tests. Likewise, HLA-A*02, HLA-B*44 and HLA-C*05 may exert a protective effect, but these associations did not remain significant after correction for multiple tests. This is relevant information for the clinical management of patients in the setting of the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and potentially in risk-assessing staff interactions with infected patients.