Molecular Study of ACE2 Gene Polymorphism of COVID-19 Infection among the Kurdish Population in Kurdistan Region- Iraq.

ABSTRACT

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a current pandemic infection of the human respiratory system, which is caused by which caused by Sever Acute respiratory syndrome virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The infection was classified by World Health Organization (WHO) as a universal pandemic in February 2020; there have been 494.587.638 confirmed cases and 6.170.283 deaths. The present study investigated the molecular genetics of the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) gene in correlation to COVID-19 patients in the Kurdish population. Eighty-six individuals were clinically diagnosed with COVID-19 and control groups. After the genomic DNA extraction these participants the target 1, 2 and 8 exons of the ACE2 gene were amplified using the PCR technique, and then the Sanger sequencing technique was performed to analyze genetic variants of the ACE2 gene in 70 DNA samples of COVID-19 hospital patients at Emergency Hospital in Erbil city, Sarchnar Hospital in Sulaymaniyah city, Lalav Hospital in Duhok city and Wafa Hospital in Halabja city from Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The current study was designed into two groups control group and a patient group. The patient group was divided into two subgroups, severe and mild patients of different ages and genders. As a result, there were no mutations at the positions 1, 2 and 8 exons sequences, while single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected and identified three different types of mutation at intron position twenty-six of c.12405 del T, two of c.12407 T>G, and two of c.12406 G>A in a total 86 participants. This result shows that genetic difference does not impact the COVID-19 infection severity among the Kurdish population regarding ACE2 gene polymorphism.