Evaluation of IFNAR2 and TYK2 transcripts’ prognostic role in COVID-19 patients: a retrospective study

• Published in: Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology Vol. 14; p. 1356542
• Main Authors: Razavi, Alireza, Raei, Maedeh, Hatami, Yasin, Chokami, Ghazal Saghi, Goudarzi, Yasaman, Ghasemian, Roya, Alizadeh-Navaei, Reza, Yarmohammadi, Hossein, Soltanipur, Masood, Tabarestani, Mohammad, Valadan, Reza, Meshkinfam Haghighi, Faranak, Tarsi, Abbas Khonakdar, Razavi, Bahar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media SA 29.04.2024; Frontiers Media S.A
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Cellular and Infection Microbiology; coronavirus disease 2019; COVID-19 - genetics; Female; Humans; interferon alpha-beta receptor IFNAR2 subunit; Male; Microbiology; Middle Aged; Prognosis; prognostic factor; QR1-502; Receptor, Interferon alpha-beta - genetics; Receptor, Interferon alpha-beta - metabolism; Retrospective Studies; SARS coronavirus 2; SARS-CoV-2 - genetics; TYK2 Kinase - genetics; TYK2 Kinase - metabolism; tyrosine kinase; SARS coronavirus 2; prognostic factor; interferon alpha-beta receptor IFNAR2 subunit; coronavirus disease 2019; tyrosine kinase
• ISSN: 2235-2988; 2235-2988
• DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1356542

This study aimed to investigate the possible prognostic significance of interferon alpha-beta receptor subunit 2 (IFNAR2) and tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) expressions. We conducted a retrospective study including COVID-19 adult patients. All blood samples were collected before any interventions. The expressions of IFNAR2 and TYK2 were assessed using real-time PCR in venous blood samples of 54 cases and 56 controls. The transcript quantities of IFNAR2 and TYK2 genes were assessed using a Delta-Ct method. Our findings show no significant differences in gene expression levels for IFNAR2 and TYK2 between patients who required oxygen (O2) therapy and those who did not (p-value = 0.732 and p-value = 0.629, respectively). Likewise, there were no significant differences in IFNAR2 and TYK2 expressions between patients hospitalized for less than 7 days and those hospitalized for 7 days or more (p-value = 0.455 and p-value = 0.626, respectively). We also observed a weak correlation between IFNAR2 expression and CRP (p-value = 0.045, r = 0.192). There was a negative correlation between the expression levels of IFNAR2 and TYK2 transcripts in COVID-19 patients (p-value = 0.044; partial correlation coefficient = -0.283). Additionally, IFNAR2 and TYK2 were significantly downregulated in the COVID-19 group compared to healthy subjects (p-value = 0.002 and p-value = 0.028, respectively). However, neither IFNAR2 nor TYK2 expression was significantly different between the case subgroups based on COVID-19 severity. The IFNAR2 ΔΔCt (B = -0.184, 95% CI: -0.524-0.157, p-value = 0.275) and the TYK2 ΔΔCt (B = 0.114, 95% CI: -0.268-0.496, p-value = 0.543) were not found to be significant predictors of hospitalization duration. The area under the curve (AUC) for IFNAR2 expression is 0.655 (p-value = 0.005, 95% CI: 0.554-0.757), suggesting its poor discriminative value. We were unable to comment definitively on the prognostic power of IFNAR2 and TYK2 expressions in COVID-19 patients, and larger-scale studies are needed. The principal limitations of this study included the lack of longitudinal analysis and limited sample size.