HLA Genotypes in Patients with Infection Caused by Different Strains of SARS-CoV-2.
Ludmila Bubnova, Irina Pavlova, Maria Terentieva, Tatiana Glazanova, Elena Belyaeva, Sergei Sidorkevich, Nataliya Bashketova, Irina Chkhingeria, Mal'vina Kozhemyakina, Daniil Azarov, Raisa Kuznetsova, Edward S Ramsay, Anna Gladkikh, Alena Sharova, Vladimir Dedkov, Areg Totolian
Author Information
Ludmila Bubnova: Russian Research Institute of Hematology and Transfusion Science, FMBA, 191024 St. Petersburg, Russia.
Irina Pavlova: Russian Research Institute of Hematology and Transfusion Science, FMBA, 191024 St. Petersburg, Russia.
Maria Terentieva: Russian Research Institute of Hematology and Transfusion Science, FMBA, 191024 St. Petersburg, Russia.
Tatiana Glazanova: Russian Research Institute of Hematology and Transfusion Science, FMBA, 191024 St. Petersburg, Russia. ORCID
Elena Belyaeva: Russian Research Institute of Hematology and Transfusion Science, FMBA, 191024 St. Petersburg, Russia.
Sergei Sidorkevich: Russian Research Institute of Hematology and Transfusion Science, FMBA, 191024 St. Petersburg, Russia.
Nataliya Bashketova: Saint Petersburg Office, Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare, 191025 St. Petersburg, Russia.
Irina Chkhingeria: Saint Petersburg Office, Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare, 191025 St. Petersburg, Russia.
Mal'vina Kozhemyakina: Saint Petersburg Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology, 191023 St. Petersburg, Russia.
Daniil Azarov: Saint Petersburg Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology, 191023 St. Petersburg, Russia.
Raisa Kuznetsova: Department of immunology, Faculty of medicine, Pavlov First Saint Petersburg State Medical University, Russian Ministry of Health, 197022 St. Petersburg, Russia.
Edward S Ramsay: Saint Petersburg Pasteur Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, 197101 St. Petersburg, Russia.
Anna Gladkikh: Saint Petersburg Pasteur Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, 197101 St. Petersburg, Russia. ORCID
Alena Sharova: Saint Petersburg Pasteur Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, 197101 St. Petersburg, Russia. ORCID
Vladimir Dedkov: Saint Petersburg Pasteur Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, 197101 St. Petersburg, Russia. ORCID
Areg Totolian: Department of immunology, Faculty of medicine, Pavlov First Saint Petersburg State Medical University, Russian Ministry of Health, 197022 St. Petersburg, Russia. ORCID
The aggressive infectious nature of SARS-CoV-2, its rapid spread, and the emergence of mutations necessitate investigation of factors contributing to differences in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and severity. The role of genetic variations in the human HLA continues to be studied in various populations in terms of both its effect on morbidity and clinical manifestation of illness. The study included 484 COVID-19 convalescents (northwest Russia residents of St. Petersburg). Cases in which the responsible strain was determined were divided in two subgroups: group 1 ( = 231) had illness caused by genovariants unrelated to variant of concern (VOC) strains; and group 2 ( = 80) had illness caused by the delta (B.1.617.2) VOC; and a control group ( = 1456). DNA typing (HLA-A, B, DRB1) was performed at the basic resolution level. HLA-A*02 was associated with protection against infection caused by non-VOC SARS-CoV-2 genetic variants only but not against infection caused by delta strains. HLA-A*03 was associated with protection against infection caused by delta strains; and allele groups associated with infection by delta strains were HLA-A*30, B*49, and B*57. Thus, in northwest Russia, HLA-A*02 was associated with protection against infection caused by non-VOC SARS-CoV-2 genetic variants but not against delta viral strains. HLA-A*03 was associated with a reduced risk of infection by delta SARS-CoV-2 strains. HLA-A*30, HLA-B*49, and HLA-B*57 allele groups were predisposing factors for infection by delta (B.1.617.2) strains.
