Association of IFNAR2 rs2236757 and OAS3 rs10735079 polymorphisms with susceptibility to COVID-19 infection and severity

The clinical course and severity of COVID-19 vary among patients. This study aimed to investigate the association of the interferon receptor (IFNAR2) rs2236757 and oligoadenylate synthetase 3 (OAS3) rs10735079 gene polymorphisms with risk of COVID-19 infection and severity among Palestinian patients. The study was conducted between April and May 2021 on 154 participants that divided into three groups: the control group (RT-PCR-negative, n=52), the community cases group (RT-PCR-positive, n= 70) and the critically ill cases (ICU group; n=32). Genotyping of the studied polymorphisms was conducted by amplicon-based next-generation sequencing. The genotype distribution of the IFNAR2 rs2236757 was significantly different among the study groups (P = 0.001), while no significant differences were observed in the distribution of OAS3 rs10735079 genotypes (P = 0.091). Logistic regression analysis adjusted for possible confounding factors revealed a significant association between the risk allele rs2236757A and critical COVID-19 illness (P < 0.025). Among all patients, the rs2236757GA carriers were more likely to have sore throat (OR, 2.52 (95% CI 1.02-6.24); P = 0.011); the risk allele rs2236757A was associated with dyspnea (OR, 4.70 (95% CI 1.80-12.27); P < 0.001), while the rs10735079A carriers were less prone to develop muscle aches (OR, 0.34 (95% CI 0.13-0.88); P = 0.0248) and sore throat (OR, 0.17 (95% CI 0.05-0.55); P < 0.001). In conclusion, our results revealed that the rs2236757A variant was associated with critical COVID-19 illness and dyspnea, whereas the rs10735079A variant was protective for muscle aches and sore throat.