Detection of the DNA methylation of seven genes contributes to monitoring recovery from COVID-19.

IF 1.3 4区医学 Q4 INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Journal of Infection in Developing Countries Pub Date : 2026-07-31 DOI:10.3855/jidc.21864

Xiao Xiao, Ren Xu, Chaoxiang Du, Jun Yin, Beibei Xin, Zhonghe Ke, Xiyan Li, Hao Zhang, Xinyu Chen

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction: DNA methylation might influence the expression of genes that regulate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) progression. This work explored the significance of DNA methylation of 7 genes (TAC1, CDO1, HOXA9, ZFP42, SOX17, RASSF1A, and SHOX2) in blood circulating free DNA (cfDNA) in differentiating COVID-19 infections and recoveries. The correlation with changes in the proportion of immune cell populations in the recovery period was analyzed.

Methodology: 18 COVID-19-infected, 65 COVID-19-recovered, and 11 uninfected individuals were included. DNA methylation expression was determined by quantitative multiplex methylation-specific PCR (qMSP). The immune function of the recovered group versus uninfected group was evaluated by full-spectrum flow cytometry.

Results: The infected population showed a higher methylation positivity rate for 7 genes compared to the uninfected/recovered population. A model was constructed to distinguish the infected patients from uninfected/recovered individuals using the methylation status of 7 genes, with a sensitivity, specificity and area under curve (AUC) of 0.889, 0.842 and 0.931, respectively. The results of flow cytometry revealed that CD8+ T cells and CD38+ CD8+ T cells were significantly upregulated in recovered individuals compared to those in uninfected individuals. DNA methylation was correlated with immune cell changes, with a significant increase in the percentage of T cells, PD-1+ function CD4+ T cells, TCRγδ+ cells, and CD38+ NKT cells upon an increase in 7 gene methylation positivity.

Conclusions: This work revealed the significance of 7 gene methylation in the diagnosis of COVID-19 recovery, and demonstrated that these genes were significant in evaluating the immune function during the recovery period.

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检测7个基因的DNA甲基化有助于监测COVID-19的恢复情况。

DNA甲基化可能影响调控2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）进展的基因表达。本研究探讨了血液循环游离DNA （cfDNA）中7个基因（TAC1、CDO1、HOXA9、ZFP42、SOX17、RASSF1A和SHOX2） DNA甲基化在区分COVID-19感染和康复中的意义。分析其与恢复期免疫细胞群比例变化的相关性。方法：纳入18例新冠肺炎感染者、65例新冠肺炎康复者和11例未感染者。采用定量多重甲基化特异性PCR （qMSP）检测DNA甲基化表达。采用全谱流式细胞术评价康复组与未感染组的免疫功能。结果：感染人群与未感染/恢复人群相比，7个基因的甲基化阳性率较高。利用7个基因的甲基化状态构建了区分感染患者和未感染/康复个体的模型，其敏感性、特异性和曲线下面积（AUC）分别为0.889、0.842和0.931。流式细胞术结果显示，与未感染个体相比，康复个体的CD8+ T细胞和CD38+ CD8+ T细胞显著上调。DNA甲基化与免疫细胞的变化相关，随着7个基因甲基化阳性的增加，T细胞、PD-1+功能CD4+ T细胞、TCRγδ+细胞和CD38+ NKT细胞的百分比显著增加。结论：本工作揭示了7个基因甲基化在COVID-19康复诊断中的意义，并证明这些基因在评估恢复期免疫功能方面具有重要意义。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Infection in Developing Countries INFECTIOUS DISEASES-

CiteScore

3.70

自引率

5.30%

发文量

239

审稿时长

4-8 weeks

期刊介绍： The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries (JIDC) is an international journal, intended for the publication of scientific articles from Developing Countries by scientists from Developing Countries. JIDC is an independent, on-line publication with an international editorial board. JIDC is open access with no cost to view or download articles and reasonable cost for publication of research artcles, making JIDC easily availiable to scientists from resource restricted regions.