Author:
Boraey Naglaa F.,Bebars Marwa A.,Wahba Ali A.,Abd El Lateef Hanan M.,Attia Mohamed Atif,Elsayed Ahmed H.,Rashed Khalid A.,Sorour Ehab I.,Ahmed Mohamed F.,Abd-Elrehim Ghada A. B.,Soliman Attia A.,Shehab Mohamed M. M.,Elhindawy Eman M.,Ibraheem Ahmed A. A.,Shehata Hassan,Yousif Yousif M.,Hashem Mustafa I. A.,Ahmed Amani A.,Emam Ahmed A.,Gameil Dalia M.,Abdelhady Eman M.,Abdelkhalek Khalil,Morsi Walaa E. M. A.,Selim Dalia M.,Razek Suzan A.,Ashraf Bassem,Saleh Ahmed S. E.,Eltrawy Heba H.,Alanwar Mohamed I.,Fouad Rania A.,Omar Walaa E.,Nabil Rehab M.,Abdelhamed Mohamed R.,Ibrahim Mona Yousri,Malek Mai M.,Afify Mona R.,Alharbi Mohanned T.,Nagshabandi Mohammed K.,Tarabulsi Muyassar K.,Qashqary Mohammed Esmail,Almoraie Laila M.,Salem Hanan F.,Rashad Manal M.,El-Gaaly Sonya A. A.,El- Deeb Nahawand A.,Abdallah Amany M.,Fakhreldin Ahmed R.,Hassouba Mohamed,Massoud Yasmine M.,Attaya Mona S. M.,Haridi Mohammed K.
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Given the sparse data on the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and its biological effector molecules ACE1 and ACE2 in pediatric COVID-19 cases, we investigated whether the ACE1 insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism could be a genetic marker for susceptibility to COVID-19 in Egyptian children and adolescents.
Methods
This was a case-control study included four hundred sixty patients diagnosed with COVID-19, and 460 well-matched healthy control children and adolescents. The I/D polymorphism (rs1799752) in the ACE1 gene was genotyped by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), meanwhile the ACE serum concentrations were assessed by ELISA.
Results
The ACE1 D/D genotype and Deletion allele were significantly more represented in patients with COVID-19 compared to the control group (55% vs. 28%; OR = 2.4; [95% CI: 1.46–3.95]; for the DD genotype; P = 0.002) and (68% vs. 52.5%; OR: 1.93; [95% CI: 1.49–2.5] for the D allele; P = 0.032). The presence of ACE1 D/D genotype was an independent risk factor for severe COVID-19 among studied patients (adjusted OR: 2.6; [95% CI: 1.6–9.7]; P < 0.001.
Conclusions
The ACE1 insertion/deletion polymorphism may confer susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection in Egyptian children and adolescents.
Impact
Recent studies suggested a crucial role of renin-angiotensin system and its biological effector molecules ACE1 and ACE2 in the pathogenesis and progression of COVID-19.
To our knowledge, ours is the first study to investigate the association of ACE1 I/D polymorphism and susceptibility to COVID-19 in Caucasian children and adolescents.
The presence of the ACE1 D/D genotype or ACE1 Deletion allele may confer susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and being associated with higher ACE serum levels; may constitute independent risk factors for severe COVID-19.
The ACE1 I/D genotyping help design further clinical trials reconsidering RAS-pathway antagonists to achieve more efficient targeted therapies.
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health