Genetic Mutations Key for COVID Susceptibility In India

In India, multiple genetic mutations are responsible for coronavirus susceptibility, stated a team of researchers at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU). The team led by Professor Gyaneshwer Chaubey analyzed the TMPRSS2 gene among global populations and found that it accounted for the COVID-19 severity in the Indian population.

The study has been published in the international journal "Infection, Genetics, and Evolution".

Professor Chaubey said that the coronavirus (SARS-CoV2), the causative agent for COVID-19, employs the ACE2 receptor to enter the host cell through S protein, priming by a serine protease, TMPRSS2.

Mutation in the ACE2 and TMPRSS2 genes accounts for the disparity in disease susceptibility between populations.

The team also included Professor Chaubey's lab scientists Rudra Kumar Pandey, Anshika Srivastava, and Prajjval Pratap Singh.

The team analyzed next-generation sequencing (NGS) data of 393 global samples.

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"Our analysis of phylogenetic relatedness showed a closer affinity of South Asians with the West Eurasian populations; therefore, host disease susceptibility and severity, particularly in the context of TMPRSS2, will be closer to West Eurasian instead of East Eurasians," said Rudra Kumar Pandey, the first author of the study.

The study has also reported a mutation rs2070788 which significantly increases TMPRSS2 expression in lungs and is associated with the high case fatality rate among Indian populations.

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Source-IANS