During the COVID-19 pandemic, the most severe form of the disease was most often seen in male patients. The aim of this study was to identify any male predispositions that could be used to predict the outcome of the disease and enable early intervention. We investigated CAG polymorphism in the androgen receptor gene and serum levels of testosterone and LH, which were considered as probably responsible for this predisposition. The study involved 142 patients who had recovered from COVID-19 at least three months previously and were classified according to their disease severity using theWorld Health Organization (WHO) classification. We observed a significant increase in the number of CAG repeats with increasing disease severity: the percentage of patients with more than 23 repeats increased two-fold from Grade I to Grade IV. Furthermore, testosterone levels were significantly lower in patients with severe disease. Reduced androgenic signaling could predispose men to a more severe form: low testosterone levels and a reduced androgen receptor activity (CAG > 23) expose the host to an excessive inflammatory response, leading downstream to the multi-organ damage seen in severe COVID-19

COVID-19 Severity and androgen receptor polymorphism / Buonacquisto, Alessandra; Conflitti, ANNA CHIARA; Pallotti, Francesco; Anzuini, Antonella; Bianchini, Serena; Caponecchia, Luisa; Carraro, Anna; Ciardi, Maria Rosa; Faja, Fabiana; Fiori, Cristina; Gianfrilli, Daniele; Lenzi, Andrea; Lichtner, Miriam; Mastroianni, Claudio Maria; Pasculli, Patrizia; Rizzo, Flavio; Salacone, Pietro; Sebastianelli, Annalisa; Lombardo, Francesco; Paoli, Donatella. - In: BIOLOGY. - ISSN 2079-7737. - 11:7(2022), pp. 1-11. [10.3390/biology11070974]

COVID-19 Severity and androgen receptor polymorphism

Alessandra Buonacquisto
Primo
;
Anna Chiara Conflitti
Secondo
;
FRANCESCO PALLOTTI;Antonella Anzuini;Serena Bianchini;Luisa Caponecchia;Anna Carraro;Maria Rosa Ciardi;Fabiana Faja;Daniele Gianfrilli;Andrea Lenzi;Miriam Lichtner;Claudio Maria MASTROIANNI;Patrizia Pasculli;Flavio Rizzo;PIETRO SALACONE;Francesco Lombardo
Penultimo
;
Donatella PAOLI
Ultimo
2022

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the most severe form of the disease was most often seen in male patients. The aim of this study was to identify any male predispositions that could be used to predict the outcome of the disease and enable early intervention. We investigated CAG polymorphism in the androgen receptor gene and serum levels of testosterone and LH, which were considered as probably responsible for this predisposition. The study involved 142 patients who had recovered from COVID-19 at least three months previously and were classified according to their disease severity using theWorld Health Organization (WHO) classification. We observed a significant increase in the number of CAG repeats with increasing disease severity: the percentage of patients with more than 23 repeats increased two-fold from Grade I to Grade IV. Furthermore, testosterone levels were significantly lower in patients with severe disease. Reduced androgenic signaling could predispose men to a more severe form: low testosterone levels and a reduced androgen receptor activity (CAG > 23) expose the host to an excessive inflammatory response, leading downstream to the multi-organ damage seen in severe COVID-19
2022
covid-19; androgen receptor; polymorphism; testosterone
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
COVID-19 Severity and androgen receptor polymorphism / Buonacquisto, Alessandra; Conflitti, ANNA CHIARA; Pallotti, Francesco; Anzuini, Antonella; Bianchini, Serena; Caponecchia, Luisa; Carraro, Anna; Ciardi, Maria Rosa; Faja, Fabiana; Fiori, Cristina; Gianfrilli, Daniele; Lenzi, Andrea; Lichtner, Miriam; Mastroianni, Claudio Maria; Pasculli, Patrizia; Rizzo, Flavio; Salacone, Pietro; Sebastianelli, Annalisa; Lombardo, Francesco; Paoli, Donatella. - In: BIOLOGY. - ISSN 2079-7737. - 11:7(2022), pp. 1-11. [10.3390/biology11070974]
File allegati a questo prodotto
File Dimensione Formato  
Buonacquisto_COVID-19_2022.pdf

accesso aperto

Note: articolo finale pubblicato
Tipologia: Versione editoriale (versione pubblicata con il layout dell'editore)
Licenza: Creative commons
Dimensione 1.55 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
1.55 MB Adobe PDF

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1651210
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 2
  • Scopus 2
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 1
social impact