Investigation of the Relationship between Vitamin D Deficiency and Vitamin D-Binding Protein Polymorphisms in Severe COVID-19 Patients

DOI record: { "DOI": "10.3390/diagnostics14171941", "ISSN": [ "2075-4418" ], "URL": "http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14171941", "abstract": "<jats:p>This study explores the association of vitamin D-binding protein (VDBP) gene polymorphisms, vitamin D levels, and the severity of COVID-19, including the need for intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalization. We analyzed a cohort of 56 consecutive age- and gender-matched adult COVID-19-positive patients and categorized them into three groups: outpatients with mild illness, inpatients with moderate disease, and ICU patients. We measured levels of free, total, and bioavailable 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], VDBP, and albumin. VDBP polymorphisms rs5488 and rs7041 were identified using real-time PCR. A significant proportion of ICU patients were vitamin D-deficient (56.25%) compared to outpatients (10%) and inpatients (5%) (p = 0.0003). ICU patients also had notably lower levels of VDBP (median: 222 mg/L) and total 25(OH)D (median: 18.8 ng/mL). Most patients carried heterozygous rs7041 (60.7%) and wild-type rs4588 (58.9%) genotypes. The distribution of rs7041 SNP varied significantly among groups (p = 0.0301), while rs4588 SNP distribution did not (p = 0.424). Heterozygous rs4588 patients had significantly lower VDBP levels (p = 0.029) and reduced bioavailable 25(OH)D compared to those with wild-type rs4588 (p = 0.020). Our findings indicate that VDBP gene polymorphisms, particularly rs7041 and rs4588, are associated with vitamin D status and the severity of COVID-19. The lower VDBP levels and bioavailable vitamin D in ICU patients suggest that these genetic variants may influence disease severity and hospitalization needs. These results highlight the potential role of VDBP polymorphisms in COVID-19 severity, suggesting that genetic screening could be valuable in assessing the risk of severe outcomes and guiding personalized treatment strategies.</jats:p>", "alternative-id": [ "diagnostics14171941" ], "author": [ { "ORCID": "http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4803-9137", "affiliation": [ { "name": "Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Biruni University, Istanbul 34015, Turkey" } ], "authenticated-orcid": false, "family": "Karcıoğlu Batur", "given": "Lutfiye", "sequence": "first" }, { "affiliation": [ { "name": "Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical Faculty, Biruni University, Istanbul 34015, Turkey" } ], "family": "Dokur", "given": "Mehmet", "sequence": "additional" }, { "ORCID": "http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1738-8940", "affiliation": [ { "name": "Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Medical Faculty, Biruni University, Istanbul 34015, Turkey" } ], "authenticated-orcid": false, "family": "Koç", "given": "Suna", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [ { "name": "Department of Infectious Disease, Private Medicana Hospitalis Bahçelievler, Istanbul 34180, Turkey" } ], "family": "Karabay", "given": "Mehmet", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [ { "name": "Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Biruni University, Istanbul 34015, Turkey" } ], "family": "Akcay", "given": "Zeyneb Nur", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [ { "name": "Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Biruni University, Istanbul 34015, Turkey" } ], "family": "Gunger", "given": "Ezgi", "sequence": "additional" }, { "affiliation": [ { "name": "Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Biruni University, Istanbul 34015, Turkey" } ], "family": "Hekim", "given": "Nezih", "sequence": "additional" } ], "container-title": "Diagnostics", "container-title-short": "Diagnostics", "content-domain": { "crossmark-restriction": false, "domain": [] }, "created": { "date-parts": [ [ 2024, 9, 3 ] ], "date-time": "2024-09-03T08:06:41Z", "timestamp": 1725350801000 }, "deposited": { "date-parts": [ [ 2024, 9, 3 ] ], "date-time": "2024-09-03T09:16:04Z", "timestamp": 1725354964000 }, "funder": [ { "award": [ "Biruni-BAP-2022-01-25" ], "name": "Biruni University Scientific Research Coordination Unit" } ], "indexed": { "date-parts": [ [ 2024, 9, 4 ] ], "date-time": "2024-09-04T00:28:30Z", "timestamp": 1725409710567 }, "is-referenced-by-count": 0, "issue": "17", "issued": { "date-parts": [ [ 2024, 9, 3 ] ] }, "journal-issue": { "issue": "17", "published-online": { "date-parts": [ [ 2024, 9 ] ] } }, "language": "en", "license": [ { "URL": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "content-version": "vor", "delay-in-days": 0, "start": { "date-parts": [ [ 2024, 9, 3 ] ], "date-time": "2024-09-03T00:00:00Z", "timestamp": 1725321600000 } } ], "link": [ { "URL": "https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/14/17/1941/pdf", "content-type": "unspecified", "content-version": "vor", "intended-application": "similarity-checking" } ], "member": "1968", "original-title": [], "page": "1941", "prefix": "10.3390", "published": { "date-parts": [ [ 2024, 9, 3 ] ] }, "published-online": { "date-parts": [ [ 2024, 9, 3 ] ] }, "publisher": "MDPI AG", "reference": [ { "key": "ref_1", "unstructured": "(2024, June 12). 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