School of Human Nutrition, McGill University, 21,111 Lakeshore Rd., Room MS2-035, Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, H9X 3V9, Canada.
Sci Rep. 2024 Feb 26;14(1):4673. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-55428-4.
The TAS2R38 gene is well known for its function in bitter taste sensitivity, but evidence also suggests a role in innate immunity. TAS2R38 may be relevant in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but research findings are inconsistent. The objective of this study was to explore whether common TAS2R38 haplotypes are associated with COVID-19 infection and symptomatology in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). Data from the CLSA COVID-19 Questionnaire and Seroprevalence sub-studies were utilized with CLSA genetic data for common TAS2R38 haplotypes related to bitter taste sensitivity. Haplotypes were categorized into three diplotype groups: [P]AV homozygotes, [P]AV/[A]VI heterozygotes, and [A]VI homozygotes. No significant differences were observed between diplotypes and COVID-19 infection frequency. Among self-reported COVID-19 cases (n = 76), and in uncorrected exploratory analyses, heterozygotes were less likely to report experiencing sinus pain compared to [P]AV homozygotes. Among seroprevalence-confirmed cases (n = 177), [A]VI homozygotes were less likely to report experiencing a sore/scratchy throat compared to [P]AV homozygotes. However, both observations were non-significant upon correction for multiple testing. In this study, TAS2R38 haplotypes were not significantly associated with COVID-19 infection or symptomatology. Nevertheless, in light of some exploratory patterns and conflicting evidence, additional research is warranted to evaluate links between TAS2R38 and innate immunity.
TAS2R38 基因以其在苦味敏感度中的功能而闻名，但有证据表明它在先天免疫中也发挥作用。TAS2R38 可能与 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）有关，但研究结果不一致。本研究旨在探讨常见的 TAS2R38 单倍型是否与加拿大老龄化纵向研究（CLSA）中的 COVID-19 感染和症状有关。该研究利用 CLSA 新冠病毒问卷和血清流行子研究的数据以及常见与苦味敏感度相关的 TAS2R38 单倍型的 CLSA 遗传数据。单倍型分为三组二倍体组：[P]AV 纯合子、[P]AV/[A]VI 杂合子和 [A]VI 纯合子。二倍体类型与 COVID-19 感染频率之间没有显著差异。在自我报告的 COVID-19 病例中（n=76），在未经校正的探索性分析中，与 [P]AV 纯合子相比，杂合子报告出现鼻窦疼痛的可能性较小。在血清阳性确诊病例中（n=177），与 [P]AV 纯合子相比，[A]VI 纯合子报告出现喉咙痛或瘙痒的可能性较小。然而，在进行多次测试校正后，这两种观察结果均不显著。在这项研究中，TAS2R38 单倍型与 COVID-19 感染或症状无显著相关性。尽管如此，鉴于一些探索性模式和相互矛盾的证据，需要进行更多的研究来评估 TAS2R38 与先天免疫之间的联系。
