Covid, Italian study: genetic mutations linked to severe symptoms

A connection has been identified by Italian researchers between some genetic mutations in patients and the possibility of developing the most serious symptoms of Covid-19. The pilot study – born from the multidisciplinary collaboration of researchers and doctors from the Moscati hospital in Taranto, the Pineta grande Hospital in Caserta, the Catholic University, the Irccs-Fondazione Bietti and the University of Bari – investigated the relationship between the most serious Covid-19 and the presence of some gene polymorphisms that constitute physiological variations in the genome found in the human population. The research was published in ‘Pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine’. “What we discovered – explains Alessandra Micera, director of the Irccs GB Bietti Foundation Laboratory – is that the most serious symptoms occurred in patients who had particular gene polymorphisms”. In practice, some genetic variants could favor the onset of severe forms of Covid-19. In detail, the study is based on the identification of some known polymorphisms in the genes involved in the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone (Raas) system. The latter is the hormonal mechanism that regulates blood pressure and cardiovascular function and is involved in lung damage and functional decline of major organs in Covid patients. In this pilot study, the gene polymorphisms: Ace1 (Angiotensin 1 converting enzyme), Ace2 (Angiotensin 2 converting enzyme), Agt (Angiotensinogen) and Agtr1 (Angiotensin II type 1 receptor receptors), have been identified in symptomatic patients (with respiratory compromise, obesity, hypertension, diabetes and conjunctivitis). “The gene variants for Ace2, Ace1 and Agt could, therefore, represent an excellent means of predicting clinical outcome in symptomatic patients and for referral in the therapeutic intervention in patients not yet severely symptomatic “, concludes Micera.