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Asian, European ancestry linked with greater susceptibility to dengue shock syndrome
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Patients of Asian or European descent often have genetic variants that make them more susceptible to dengue shock syndrome than patients of African descent, according to findings recently published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
“By using admixture mapping along the genome in Thai cohorts, we were able to identify new candidate genes conferring protection or susceptibility to dengue fever,” Luisa A. Pereira, PhD, of the Institute for Research and Innovation in Health at the University of Porto, Portugal, told Infectious Disease News. “A very interesting result was that the set of genes differed with the dengue phenotype: genes coding proteins that may link to the virus, conditioning its entrance in the host cells and mobility therein were associated with the less severe phenotype; genes related with blood vessels permeability were associated with the dengue shock syndrome.”
The researchers performed a coupled associated-admixture test of Thai patients with either developed dengue fever (n = 252) or dengue shock syndrome (n = 159), as well as a control blood donor group (n = 290) and a published dataset of Vietnamese patients.
Variants in the PLCB4 and PLCE1 genes, both of which are related to the inflammation of blood vessels, were associated with dengue shock syndrome, Pereira and colleagues wrote.
Four genes related to drug metabolism – CHST10, AHRR, PPP2R5E and GRIP1 – were associated with dengue fever, the researchers reported.
As a result, Pereira and colleagues reported, Southeast and Northeast Asian patients were particularly susceptible to both dengue shock syndrome and dengue fever, European patients were protected against dengue fever but vulnerable to dengue shock syndrome, and African patients were protected against dengue shock syndrome but less protected against dengue fever.
“These are not the only genes conferring susceptibility to dengue disease, but they match well some epidemiological observations,” Pereira said. “The statistical method we applied should be used in other cohorts in order to identify more gene candidates, which could help us to have a better grasp of the genetic factors conditioning this disease. The candidate genes that we identified must be analyzed through functional assays to confirm and characterize the molecular mechanism of action.” – by Andy Polhamus
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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