Association of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 gene polymorphisms with hypertension and treatment response to hydroxychloroquine in Iranian people with coronavirus disease 2019: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective: The mechanism of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in infecting human cells requires binding of the virus to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 is also involved in blood pressure regulation. There are several single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 genome. As the occurrence of clinical symptoms and response to different treatments in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 are different, it seems that single-nucleotide polymorphisms can play a role in these differences. This receptor became important during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic because the coronavirus can enter host cells via this receptor. In this study, we aimed to discover the correlation between ACE2 gene polymorphism, hypertension, and anti-coronavirus disease 2019 drug usage in patients with coronavirus disease 2019. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study, and two polymorphisms, rs1978124 and rs2158083, were analyzed in 75 patients with essential hypertension and coronavirus disease 2019. All patients were genotyped using sequencing analysis methods, and the correlation between polymorphism, hypertension, severity of other diseases, and treatment response to anti-coronavirus disease 2019 drugs was determined using SPSS 20.0. Results: There was no significant association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms and the risk of being hypertensive with other diseases and the risk of diabetes in unadjusted and adjusted models in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (P > 0.05). Conclusion: No significant association was found between single-nucleotide polymorphisms and hypertension in patients with coronavirus disease 2019.