The pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)resulted in about 6 million deaths around the world till December 2022 according to the reports of the World Health Organization (WHO). Extensive studies have explored the innate defense mechanisms and cellular proteins involved in immunity against the infection of coronaviruses. Interferon-induced transmembrane proteins (IFITMs) have been identified as key interferon-stimulating genes (ISGs) that interfere with viral endosomal membrane fusion and the infectivity of nascent virions. The rs12252 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) within the first exon of the IFITM3 gene has been associated with increased severity in some viruses such asinfluenza virus and Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Aim of the work:
The study aimed to investigate the association between interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 gene (IFITM3) rs12252 polymorphism with disease severity in coronavirus disease.
Patients and Methods:
This case-control study was conducted on 87 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients from Alexandria University Hospitalsand 75 healthy controls. The patient group was further subdivided into 3 groups; mild, moderate, and severe including 23, 36 and 28 patients respectively. Laboratory confirmation of the cases was defined as a positive COVID-19 result of real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction assay of nasopharyngeal swab specimens. Blood samples were collected on K2EDTA tubes for genotyping of IFITM3 gene SNP (rs12252).Detection of IFITM3 rs12252 SNP was performed via real-time PCR using TaqMan SNP genotyping assay.