ABSTRACT
Vitamin D has many effects on cells in the immune system. Many studies have linked low vitamin D status with severity of COVID-19. Genetic variants involved in vitamin D metabolism have been implicated as potential risk factors for severe COVID-19 outcomes. This study investigated how genetic variations in humans affected the clinical presentation of COVID-19. In total, 646 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection were divided into two groups: noncritical COVID-19 (n = 453; 70.12%) and a critical group (n = 193; 29.87%). Genotype data on the GC, NADSYN1, VDR, and CYP2R1 genes along with data on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were compiled in patients admitted to a major hospital in the United Arab Emirates between April 2020 and January 2021. We identified 12 single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with the critical COVID-19 condition: rs59241277, rs113574864, rs182901986, rs60349934, and rs113876500; rs4944076, rs4944997, rs4944998, rs4944979, and rs10898210; and rs11574018 and rs11574024. We report significant associations between genetic determinants of vitamin D metabolism and COVID-19 severity in the UAE population. Further research needed to clarify the mechanism of action against viral infection in vitamin D deficiency. These variants could be used with vaccination to manage the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and could be particularly valuable in populations in which vitamin D deficiency is common.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/genetics , Carbon-Nitrogen Ligases with Glutamine as Amide-N-Donor/genetics , Cholestanetriol 26-Monooxygenase/genetics , Cytochrome P450 Family 2/genetics , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide , Receptors, Calcitriol/genetics , Vitamin D/analogs & derivatives , Adult , Biomarkers/blood , COVID-19/blood , COVID-19/diagnosis , Carbon-Nitrogen Ligases with Glutamine as Amide-N-Donor/metabolism , Cholestanetriol 26-Monooxygenase/metabolism , Cytochrome P450 Family 2/metabolism , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Receptors, Calcitriol/metabolism , Severity of Illness Index , United Arab Emirates , Vitamin D/bloodABSTRACT
Vitamin D is a steroid hormone classically involved in the calcium metabolism and bone homeostasis. Recently, new and interesting aspects of vitamin D metabolism has been elucidated, namely the special role of the skin, the metabolic control of liver hydroxylase CYP2R1, the specificity of 1α-hydroxylase in different tissues and cell types and the genomic, non-genomic and epigenomic effects of vitamin D receptor, which will be addressed in the present review. Moreover, in the last decades, several extraskeletal effects which can be attributed to vitamin D have been shown. These beneficial effects will be here summarized, focusing on the immune system and cardiovascular system.