Association between HLA gene polymorphisms and mortality of COVID‐19: An in silico analysis

Introduction The emergence of SARS‐CoV‐2 has caused global public health and economic crisis. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) is a critical component of the viral antigen presentation pathway and plays essential roles in conferring differential viral susceptibility and severity of diseases. However, the association between HLA gene polymorphisms and risk for COVID‐19 has not been fully elucidated. We hypothesized that HLA genotypes might impact on the differences in morbidity and mortality of COVID‐19 across countries. Methods We conducted in silico analyses and examined an association of HLA gene polymorphisms with prevalence and mortality of COVID‐19 by using publicly available databases. Results We found that a possible association between HLA‐A*02:01 and an increased risk for COVID‐19. HLA‐A*02:01 had a relatively lower capacity to present SARS‐CoV‐2 antigens compared with other frequent HLA class I molecules, HLA‐A*11:01 or HLA‐A*24:02. Conclusion This study suggests that individuals with HLA‐A*11:01 or HLA‐A*24:02 genotypes may generate efficiently T‐cell‐mediated antiviral responses to SARS‐CoV‐2 compared with HLA‐A*02:01. The differences in HLA genotypes may potentially alter the course of the disease and its transmission.
We conducted in silico analyses and examined an association of HLA gene polymorphisms with prevalence and mortality of COVID‐19 by using publicly available databases. We found that the association between HLA‐A*02:01 and increased risk for COVID‐19 is probably due to the lower capacity of the genotype to present SARS‐CoV‐2 antigens. Our study suggests that identifying the HLA genotype associated with the severity of COVID‐19 or susceptibility to SARS‐CoV‐2 may support future vaccination strategies to genotypically at‐risk populations.