Investigating the relationship between the IL-17 rs2275913, IL-17 rs763780, and the IL-6 rs1800795 genotypes in HIV-positive patients with COVID-19.

Introduction: The people living with HIV with abnormal immune responses have been identified as a population that is particularly susceptibility to contracting COVID-19. We explored the correlation between gene polymorphisms of IL-17A, IL-17F, and IL-6, and the susceptibility to COVID-19 in individuals with HIV infection.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 337 HIV-positive patients were included. Serological and molecular tests were done using ELISA and PCR-RFLP methods. Allelic frequency, haplotype analyses, linkage disequilibrium were calculated. A linear regression model was used to analyze the interleukin SNP genotypes in HIV patients with and without COVID-19.

Results: A total of 337 PLWH were recruited for this study, with 170 having COVID-19 and 167 not having it. The mean age and laboratory indicators showed no significant differences between the two groups (P > 0.05). The allele frequency analysis found no significant difference in the IL-17A rs2275913 polymorphism between case and control groups. However, the IL-17F rs763780 and IL-6 rs1800795 had significantly greater frequencies of specific alleles in the case group compared to the control group. The A-A haplotype of IL-17 in SNPs-rs 2,275,913 and rs763780 rising the risk of COVID-19 infection in PLWH by up to 2.398 times compared with the other haplotypes, and the A-G and G-A haplotypes have a protective role against the incidence of COVID-19 infection.

Conclusion: This study is the first to show a significant correlation between the prevalence of COVID-19 and variety polymorphism at IL-17 and IL-6, which suggests that genetic changes in interleukin genes may relate to COVID-19 distribution.