Frequency of HLA Alleles in a Group of Severe COVID‐19 Irani-an Patients

Ramin  Hamidi Farahani; Emran  Esmaeilzadeh; Amir  Nezami Asl; Mohammad Foad  Heidari; Ebrahim  Hazrati

doi:10.18502/ijph.v50i9.7061

Ramin Hamidi Farahani Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Emran Esmaeilzadeh Department of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Amir Nezami Asl Department of Aerospace Medicine, School of Aerospace and Subaquatic Medicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Mohammad Foad Heidari Department of Laboratory Sciences, School of Aerospace and Subaquatic Medicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Ebrahim Hazrati Department of Critical Care Medicine, School of Allied Medical Sciences, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijph.v50i9.7061

Keywords: Human leukocyte antigen (HLA); COVID-19; Iran

Abstract

Background: Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) system composed of a group of related proteins with important functions in the immune system. Several studies have reported that there is a significant association between specific HLA alleles and the susceptibility to different infectious diseases. This study aimed to detect the specific HLA alleles that cause higher susceptibility to COVID-19, we analyzed the HLA allele frequency distribution in Iranian patients with a severe form of COVID-19.

Methods: Overall, 48 severe cases of COVID-19 that were hospitalized and required intensive care unit (ICU) admission between Oct and Dec 2020 were included in this study. Genomic DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood samples and HLA typing (Locus A, B, and DR) was performed for the patients.

Results: After analyzing and comparing the results with a reference group of 500 Iranian individuals, a significant association was found for HLA-B*38, HLA-A*68, HLA-A*24, and HLA-DRB1*01.

Conclusion: These results may be valuable for studying the potential association of specific HLA alleles with susceptibility to COVID-19 and mortality due to the disease.