Screening Biomarkers and Risk Factors for COVID-19 Progression in a Border Population Between Brazil-Bolivia.

BACKGROUND

The performance and genetic role in host response delineate investigative points of polymorphisms as potential biomarkers in viral infections.

METHODS

Thus, this research aimed to map biomarkers and risk factors in the severity of COVID-19 in individuals in Western Amazon (n = 243).

RESULTS

Patients aged 40 to 59 years showed an association with clinical progression ( = .003), also evidencing the relationship for individuals >60 years ( < .001), besides the non-vaccination influenced the pathology ( = .023). qPCR for human genotyping of the targets rs2070788, rs4702, rs76635825, rs540856718, rs35803318, rs12979860, and rs16899066, as well as for gene expression of ACE2, HLA-A, HLA-B, IFNL-3/2, IL-6, and TMPRSS2 was used. The rs12979860 (C > T) and rs2070788 (A > G) showed association among the analyzed groups ( < .05) with the allelic and genotypic frequency of rs12979860 (  < 3.84) and evolutionary pointing of rs2070788G allele among infected people, including deaths.

CONCLUSION

Gene expression showed high levels between the moderate and severe groups, with emphasis on TMPRSS2 and IL-6 genes that performed better. Thus, there is possibly an association regarding the role of the TMPRSS2 gene and rs2070788G, as well as age and IL-6 levels for COVID-19, pointing in parallel to the considerable influence of the vaccine on the SARS-CoV-2 pathway.