Author/Authors :
Hamidi Farahani, Ramin Department of Infectious Diseases - School of Medicine - AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , Esmaeilzadeh, Emran Department of Basic Medical Sciences - School of Medicine - AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , Nezami Asl, Amir Department of Aerospace Medicine - School of Aerospace and Subaquatic Medicine - AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , Foad Heidari, Mohammad Department of Laboratory Sciences - School of Aerospace and Subaquatic Medicine - AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , Hazrati, Ebrahim Department of Critical Care Medicine - School of Allied Medical Sciences - AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 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 spe-cific 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 pe-ripheral 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 signifi-cant 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.
