Banca de DEFESA: MARIA GABRIELA SOUZA FANTIN

Uma banca de DEFESA de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : MARIA GABRIELA SOUZA FANTIN
DATE: 28/03/2025
TIME: 09:00
LOCAL: Sala Virtual Remota (Microsoft Teams) https://bit.ly/DefMSc_MariaGabrielaFantin_PGBIOEXP
TITLE:

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KEY WORDS:

COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, GWAS, symptomatic, oligosymptomatic, asymptomatic, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP).

 

PAGES: 153
BIG AREA: Ciências Biológicas
AREA: Biologia Geral
SUMMARY:

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed significant challenges to healthcare systems,
highlighting the need for a better understanding of the factors influencing disease
susceptibility and severity. While factors such as advanced age, male sex, and high
body mass index are recognized as aggravating conditions, there remains variability
in disease manifestation that is not yet fully explained. Previous genetic studies have
identified polymorphisms associated with severe COVID-19 outcomes, but the
representation of the Brazilian population in these studies remains limited. This study
aimed to analyze genetic variants previously associated with COVID-19 in 64 capillary
blood samples stored on filter paper. The comparison groups consisted of 41
symptomatic individuals and 23 oligosymptomatic/asymptomatic individuals. DNA was
extracted and analyzed by Mendelics using the BeadChip® Infinium Global Screening
Array-24 version 3.0 (Illumina®) genotyping technology, which can identify 654,000
SNPs per sample. In the data analysis, a total of nine samples did not meet quality
criteria, resulting in a final genomic dataset of 55 samples from 34 symptomatic and
21 oligosymptomatic/asymptomatic individuals. The initial screening included 108
SNPs previously described in the literature as associated with infection risk,
hospitalization, and COVID-19 severity. From this dataset, 17 SNPs were identified in
the studied population. Data analysis was conducted using the GenomeStudio
software, leading to the exclusion of nine samples due to unsatisfactory quality criteria,
leaving 34 symptomatic and 21 oligosymptomatic/asymptomatic participants.
Regarding demographic data, participants ranged in age from 14 to 79 years (mean
age of 38 years; median of 34 years), with a predominance of females (64.7%). Clinical
analysis indicated that symptomatic individuals had a higher frequency of cough
(79.4%), fever (70.6%), headache (67.6%), and sore throat (61.8%), while fever and
headache occurred in 22.2% of oligosymptomatic individuals. Regarding genetic
analyses, the screened SNPs were located in the following loci: 1q21.3 (rs35154152),
2p16.1 (rs1123573), 3p21.31 (rs2531743), 4p15.2 (rs16877005), 4q24 (rs13107325),
6p21.1 (rs1886814), 6p21.32 (rs35122968), 9p21.3 (rs28368148), 9q34.2 (rs8176719
and rs687289), 9q34.13 (rs505922), 11p15.5 (rs35705950), 19p13.2 (rs73510898 and
rs34536443), 19p13.3 (rs2109069 and rs12610495), and 19q13.33 (rs1405655). The
frequency distribution of the SNPs between the analyzed groups was not statistically
significant, and thus, an Odds Ratio estimation for the risk alleles reported in the
literature and the clinical outcomes of this study was not performed. These findings
reinforce the need for broader genomic analyses to better understand the influence of
genetic factors on the response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and potential genetic
biomarkers for COVID-19 susceptibility.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externo à Instituição - PABLO RAFAEL SILVEIRA OLIVEIRA - UFBA
Externa à Instituição - ANA CAROLINA RAMOS GUIMARÃES - FIOCRUZ
Presidente - 1786399 - DHELIO BATISTA PEREIRA