Role of immune system inborn errors as determinants of the COVID-19 severity in hospitalized patients

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Advanced age, male gender and comorbidities are highly prevalent in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and are associated with worse outcomes. But these risk factors cannot explain why critical disease occurs in young /middle age and apparently healthy individuals. Individual susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 could be determined by inherited genetic variants, as well as by neutralizing autoantibodies against type I interferon. This project aims to detect inborn errors of immunity (genetic and autoantibodies) related with worse COVID-19 outcomes.


We will analyze all genes related with susceptibility to COVID-19 in 300 COVID-19 patients who will be divided into 4 groups based on severity and age. Furthermore, we will determine type I IFN autoantibodies in 2000 moderate and 1000 severe hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Elucidating the genetic determinants of COVID-19 severity and susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection would allow stratification of individuals according to risk. Furthermore, our study will determine the incidence of type I IFN autoantibodies in our patients, as well as its usefulness as markers for COVID-19 severity in hospitalized patients. Understanding the causes and mechanisms of life-threatening COVID-19 is crucial and could lead us to novel preventive and therapeutic options.