1. Prevalence of the protective OAS1 rs10774671-G allele against severe COVID-19 in Moroccans: implications for a North African Neanderthal connection.
- Author
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Yousfi FZE, Haroun AE, Nebhani C, Belayachi J, Askander O, Fahime EE, Fares H, Ennibi K, Abouqal R, Razine R, and Bouhouche A
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Africa, Northern, Alleles, Gene Frequency, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genotype, Haplotypes, North African People, Prevalence, 2',5'-Oligoadenylate Synthetase genetics, COVID-19 genetics, COVID-19 virology, COVID-19 epidemiology, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
- Abstract
The clinical presentation of COVID-19 shows high variability among individuals, which is partly due to genetic factors. The OAS1/2/3 cluster has been found to be strongly associated with COVID-19 severity. We examined this locus in the Moroccan population for the occurrence of the critical variant rs10774671 and its respective haplotype blocks. The frequency of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the cluster of OAS immunity genes in 157 unrelated individuals of Moroccan origin was determined using an in-house exome database. OAS1 exon 6 of 71 SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals with asymptomatic/mild disease and 74 with moderate/severe disease was sequenced by the Sanger method. The genotypic, allelic, and haplotype frequencies of three SNPs were compared between these two groups. Finally, males in our COVID-19 series were genotyped for the Berber-specific marker E-M81. The prevalence of the OAS1 rs10774671-G allele in present-day Moroccans was found to be 40.4%, which is similar to that found in Europeans. However, it was found equally in both the Neanderthal GGG haplotype and the African GAC haplotype, with a frequency of 20% each. These two haplotypes, and hence the rs10774671-G allele, were significantly associated with protection against severe COVID-19 (p = 0.034, p = 0.041, and p = 0.008, respectively). Surprisingly, in men with the Berber-specific uniparental markers, the African haplotype was absent, while the prevalence of the Neanderthal haplotype was similar to that in Europeans. The protective rs10774671-G allele of OAS1 was found only in the Neanderthal haplotype in Berbers, the indigenous people of North Africa, suggesting that this region may have served as a stepping-stone for the passage of hominids to other continents., (© 2024. The Author(s).)
- Published
- 2024
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