HLA-B*44 and C*01 Prevalence Correlates with Covid19 Spreading across Italy
The spread of COVID-19 is showing huge, unexplained, differences between northern and southern Italy. We hypothesized that the regional prevalence of specific class I human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles, which shape the anti-viral immune response, might partly underlie these differences. Through a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-07-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/15/5205 |
| _version_ | 1797561607591559168 |
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| author | Pierpaolo Correale Luciano Mutti Francesca Pentimalli Giovanni Baglio Rita Emilena Saladino Pierpaolo Sileri Antonio Giordano |
| author_facet | Pierpaolo Correale Luciano Mutti Francesca Pentimalli Giovanni Baglio Rita Emilena Saladino Pierpaolo Sileri Antonio Giordano |
| author_sort | Pierpaolo Correale |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The spread of COVID-19 is showing huge, unexplained, differences between northern and southern Italy. We hypothesized that the regional prevalence of specific class I human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles, which shape the anti-viral immune response, might partly underlie these differences. Through an ecological approach, we analyzed whether a set of HLA alleles (A, B, C), known to be involved in the immune response against infections, correlates with COVID-19 incidence. COVID-19 data were provided by the National Civil Protection Department, whereas HLA allele prevalence was retrieved through the Italian Bone-Marrow Donors Registry. Among all the alleles, HLA-A*25, B*08, B*44, B*15:01, B*51, C*01, and C*03 showed a positive log-linear correlation with COVID-19 incidence rate fixed on 9 April 2020 in proximity of the national outbreak peak (Pearson’s coefficients between 0.50 and 0.70, <i>p</i>-value < 0.0001), whereas HLA-B*14, B*18, and B*49 showed an inverse log-linear correlation (Pearson’s coefficients between −0.47 and −0.59, <i>p</i>-value < 0.0001). When alleles were examined simultaneously using a multiple regression model to control for confounding factors, HLA-B*44 and C*01 were still positively and independently associated with COVID-19: a growth rate of 16% (95%CI: 0.1–35%) per 1% point increase in B*44 prevalence; and of 19% (95%CI: 1–41%) per 1% point increase in C*01 prevalence. Our epidemiologic analysis, despite the limits of the ecological approach, is strongly suggestive of a permissive role of HLA-C*01 and B*44 towards SARS-CoV-2 infection, which warrants further investigation in case-control studies. This study opens a new potential avenue for the identification of sub-populations at risk, which could provide Health Services with a tool to define more targeted clinical management strategies and priorities in vaccination campaigns. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:17:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d305b711eb574f8b9960d726cfc591cb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:17:19Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-d305b711eb574f8b9960d726cfc591cb2023-11-20T07:38:35ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672020-07-012115520510.3390/ijms21155205HLA-B*44 and C*01 Prevalence Correlates with Covid19 Spreading across ItalyPierpaolo Correale0Luciano Mutti1Francesca Pentimalli2Giovanni Baglio3Rita Emilena Saladino4Pierpaolo Sileri5Antonio Giordano6Unit of Medical Oncology, Oncology Department, Grand Metropolitan Hospital ‘Bianchi Melacrino Morelli’, I-89124 Reggio Calabria, ItalySbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Center for Biotechnology, College of Science and Technology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USACell Biology and Biotherapy Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori, IRCCS, Fondazione G. Pascale, I-80131 Napoli, ItalyMinistry of Health, I-00153 Rome, ItalyTissue Typing Unit, Grand Metropolitan Hospital ‘Bianchi Melacrino Morelli’, I-89124 Reggio Calabria, ItalyUniversità Vita Salute San Raffaele, I-20132 Milano, ItalySbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Center for Biotechnology, College of Science and Technology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USAThe spread of COVID-19 is showing huge, unexplained, differences between northern and southern Italy. We hypothesized that the regional prevalence of specific class I human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles, which shape the anti-viral immune response, might partly underlie these differences. Through an ecological approach, we analyzed whether a set of HLA alleles (A, B, C), known to be involved in the immune response against infections, correlates with COVID-19 incidence. COVID-19 data were provided by the National Civil Protection Department, whereas HLA allele prevalence was retrieved through the Italian Bone-Marrow Donors Registry. Among all the alleles, HLA-A*25, B*08, B*44, B*15:01, B*51, C*01, and C*03 showed a positive log-linear correlation with COVID-19 incidence rate fixed on 9 April 2020 in proximity of the national outbreak peak (Pearson’s coefficients between 0.50 and 0.70, <i>p</i>-value < 0.0001), whereas HLA-B*14, B*18, and B*49 showed an inverse log-linear correlation (Pearson’s coefficients between −0.47 and −0.59, <i>p</i>-value < 0.0001). When alleles were examined simultaneously using a multiple regression model to control for confounding factors, HLA-B*44 and C*01 were still positively and independently associated with COVID-19: a growth rate of 16% (95%CI: 0.1–35%) per 1% point increase in B*44 prevalence; and of 19% (95%CI: 1–41%) per 1% point increase in C*01 prevalence. Our epidemiologic analysis, despite the limits of the ecological approach, is strongly suggestive of a permissive role of HLA-C*01 and B*44 towards SARS-CoV-2 infection, which warrants further investigation in case-control studies. This study opens a new potential avenue for the identification of sub-populations at risk, which could provide Health Services with a tool to define more targeted clinical management strategies and priorities in vaccination campaigns.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/15/5205SARS-Cov2coronavirusCOVID-19HLA class Iviral infection susceptibility |
| spellingShingle | Pierpaolo Correale Luciano Mutti Francesca Pentimalli Giovanni Baglio Rita Emilena Saladino Pierpaolo Sileri Antonio Giordano HLA-B*44 and C*01 Prevalence Correlates with Covid19 Spreading across Italy International Journal of Molecular Sciences SARS-Cov2 coronavirus COVID-19 HLA class I viral infection susceptibility |
| title | HLA-B*44 and C*01 Prevalence Correlates with Covid19 Spreading across Italy |
| title_full | HLA-B*44 and C*01 Prevalence Correlates with Covid19 Spreading across Italy |
| title_fullStr | HLA-B*44 and C*01 Prevalence Correlates with Covid19 Spreading across Italy |
| title_full_unstemmed | HLA-B*44 and C*01 Prevalence Correlates with Covid19 Spreading across Italy |
| title_short | HLA-B*44 and C*01 Prevalence Correlates with Covid19 Spreading across Italy |
| title_sort | hla b 44 and c 01 prevalence correlates with covid19 spreading across italy |
| topic | SARS-Cov2 coronavirus COVID-19 HLA class I viral infection susceptibility |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/15/5205 |
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