Genetic Diversity of the ACE2 Gene and Susceptibility to COVID-19 in Morocco Population

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 was the most amazing pandemic of the early third millennium, with significant variability in infection rates across regions worldwide. Genetic factors, particularly the ACE2 gene, coding for a common receptor implicated in facilitating SARS-CoV-2 entry into human cells, could play a crucial role in susceptibility to infection. Our study aimed to analyze the allelic frequency of four SNPs in ACE2 gene (rs4646127, rs2074192, rs2285666, rs112171234) and evaluate their correlations with COVID-19 infection rates in four regional samples from Morocco. Methods: The total sample (N = 200) was obtained from: Rif (n = 50), Doukkala (n = 50), Ouarzazate (n = 49), and, Guelmim (n = 51). Genomic DNA was extracted using the GeneJET™ kit and genotyped by real-time PCR using TaqMan technology. Results: Analyses revealed significant spatial variations in the frequencies of alternative alleles of the studied SNPs, ranging from 0% to 74%. A significant positive correlation was observed between the frequency of alternative G allele of the rs4646127 and the infection rate variation (r = 0.96; p = 0.03; n = 4). Furthermore, significant differences reached 54.17% with worldwide populations (from North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, Latino-America, East Asia, and South Asia) for the total SNP’s comparisons. Conclusions: Our results suggest a significant positive correlation between the frequency of the alternative allele of the ACE2 gene polymorphism rs4646127 and COVID-19 regional infection rates in Morocco. This property could be exploited to consider this SNP as a potential biomarker for identifying at-risk groups. However, due to the limited number of regional samples, our results for all the analyzed SNPs remain exploratory and would require confirmation through larger-scale studies.