SNP rs657152 Is Not Associated with the Level of Viral Load in COVID-19 or the Probability of Disease in the Population of Caucasians in Eastern Siberia

Orlova, E. A.; Ogarkov, O. B.; Khromova, P. A.; Sinkov, V. V.; Khasnatinov, M. A.; Zhdanova, S. N.; Rychkova, L. V.; Kolesnikova, L. I.

Cross-replicating associations with rs657152 at the 9q34.2c locus and rs11385942 at the 3p21.31 locus found in patients with severe COVID-19 in the Caucasian population require the study of the discovered phenomenon in various populations, including as an independent biological marker. Primers and TaqMan probes for PCR discrimination of the A and C alleles in single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs657152 have been developed. The polymorphism of the rs657152 A/C locus was determined in 129 patients with COVID-19 and in a control group of 466 healthy individuals. There were no significant differences in the frequency of distribution of the A and C alleles, 0.47/0.53 and 0.45/0.55, between patients and healthy subjects, respectively. Also, no differences were found in the distribution of alleles in patients with a high viral load in the smear (Ct in the range of 16–25) in comparison with an average and low viral load (Ct in the range of 26–40).