Analysis of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome-b (CYB) and ATPase-6 gene mutations in COVID-19 patients

Abstract

Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID‐19) is a pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2). Mutations of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are becoming increasingly common in various diseases. This study aims to investigate mutations in the cytochrome‐b (CYB) and adenosine triphosphatase‐6 (ATPase‐6) genes of mtDNA in COVID‐19 patients. The association between mtDNA mutations and clinical outcomes is investigated here. In the present study, mutations of the mtDNA genes CYB and ATPase‐6 were investigated in COVID‐19 (+) (n = 65) and COVID‐19 (−) patients (n = 65). First, we isolated DNA from the blood samples. After the PCR analyses, the mutations were defined using Sanger DNA sequencing. The age, creatinine, ferritin, and CRP levels of the COVID 19 (+) patients were higher than those of the COVID‐19 (−) patients (p = 0.0036, p = 0.0383, p = 0.0305, p < 0.0001, respectively). We also found 16 different mutations in the CYB gene and 14 different mutations in the ATPase‐6 gene. The incidences of CYB gene mutations A15326G, T15454C, and C15452A were higher in COVID‐19 (+) patients than COVID‐19 (−) patients; p < 0.0001: OR (95% CI): 4.966 (2.215−10.89), p = 0.0226, and p = 0.0226, respectively. In contrast, the incidences of A8860G and G9055A ATPase‐6 gene mutations were higher in COVID‐19 (+) patients than COVID‐19 (−) patients; p < 0.0001: OR (95%CI): 5.333 (2.359−12.16) and p = 0.0121 respectively. Yet, no significant relationship was found between mtDNA mutations and patients' age and biochemical parameters (p > 0.05). The results showed that the frequency of mtDNA mutations in COVID‐19 patients is quite high and it is important to investigate the association of these mutations with other genetic mechanisms in larger patient populations.