HLA-I allelic variants related to resistance and susceptibility to severe SARS-CoV-2 infection

Abstract

Objective: Identify allelic variants of HLA I related to possible resistance or susceptibility to severe SARS-CoV-2 infection and describe this relationship. Methods: This study is a descriptive literature review based on articles published between the years 2020 and 2021 in the databases: SciELO, ScienceDirect, PubMed /MEDLINE, Capes Periodicals, BVS, Wiley Online Library; that was available in Brazilian Portuguese and English. Results: The analyzed studies demonstrated that HLA I alleles can be considered like determinants of resistance or susceptibility to COVID-19 due to their ability to bind to SARS-CoV-2 peptides, influencing in the regulation of the immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Conclusions: There is an agreement between the authors regarding the role of HLA I like a determinant of resistance and genetic susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2, where the HLA-B*46:01 was the most cited (20% frequency) as allele that confers susceptibility to the virus, and HLA-A *02: 01 and HLA-A *31: 01 were the most cited among the alleles that may confer protection against the most severe infection of COVID-19 (frequency of 19% and 18 % respectively).

Design of SARS-CoV-2 protein S peptides recognized by the most frequent HLA alleles in the Moroccan population using an immunoinformatics approach

“…This is due to the fact that these alleles have the ability to bind to SARS-CoV-2 peptides, leading to the modulation of the immune response against the virus. 40 Several studies have employed a similar approach to design peptides for the protein S of SARS-CoV-2. Baruah et al found five CD8+ T cell epitopes YLQPRTFLL, GVYFASTEK, EPVLKGVKL, VVNQNAQAL, and WTA-GAAAYY, along with eight B cell epitopes that are more likely to bind MHC class I commonly found in China.…”