TY - JOUR
T1 - DNA Methylation Levels of the ACE2 Promoter Are Not Associated with Post-COVID-19 Symptoms in Individuals Who Had Been Hospitalized Due to COVID-19
AU - Fernández-de-Las-Peñas, César
AU - Díaz-Gil, Gema
AU - Gil-Crujera, Antonio
AU - Gómez-Sánchez, Stella M
AU - Ambite-Quesada, Silvia
AU - Torres-Macho, Juan
AU - Ryan-Murua, Pablo
AU - Franco-Moreno, Anabel
AU - Pellicer-Valero, Oscar J
AU - Arendt-Nielsen, Lars
AU - Giordano, Rocco
PY - 2024/7
Y1 - 2024/7
N2 - It is known that SARS-CoV-2 can translocate via membrane ACE2 exopeptidase into the host cells, and thus hypomethylation of ACE2 possibly upregulates its expression, enhancing the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study investigated if DNA methylation levels of the ACE2 promoter are associated with the development of post-COVID-19 symptomatology in a cohort of COVID-19 survivors who had been previously hospitalized. Non-stimulated saliva samples were obtained from 279 (51.5 male, mean age: 56.5 ± 13.0 years old) COVID-19 survivors who were hospitalized during the first wave of the pandemic. A face-to-face interview in which patients described the presence of post-COVID-19 symptoms (defined as a symptom that started no later than three months after SARS-CoV-2 infection) that they suffered from to an experienced healthcare trainer was conducted. Methylation of five CpG dinucleotides in the ACE2 promoter was quantified using bisulfite pyrosequencing. The percentage of methylation (%) was associated with the presence of the following reported post-COVID-19 symptoms: fatigue, dyspnea at rest, dyspnea at exertion, brain fog, memory loss, concentration loss, or gastrointestinal problems. Participants were assessed a mean of 17.8 (SD: 5.3) months after hospitalization. At that time, 88.1% of the patients experienced at least one post-COVID-19 symptom (mean number for each patient: 3.0; SD: 1.9 post-COVID-19 symptoms). Dyspnea at exertion (67.3%), fatigue (62.3%), and memory loss (31.2%) were the most frequent post-COVID-19 symptoms in the sample. Overall, the analysis did not reveal any difference in the methylation of the ACE2 promoter in any of the CpG locations according to the presence or absence of fatigue, dyspnea at rest, dyspnea at exertion, memory loss, brain fog, concentration loss, and gastrointestinal problems. This study did not find an association between methylation of ACE2 promoter and the presence of post-COVID-19 fatigue, dyspnea, cognitive or gastrointestinal problems in previously hospitalized COVID-19 survivors.
AB - It is known that SARS-CoV-2 can translocate via membrane ACE2 exopeptidase into the host cells, and thus hypomethylation of ACE2 possibly upregulates its expression, enhancing the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study investigated if DNA methylation levels of the ACE2 promoter are associated with the development of post-COVID-19 symptomatology in a cohort of COVID-19 survivors who had been previously hospitalized. Non-stimulated saliva samples were obtained from 279 (51.5 male, mean age: 56.5 ± 13.0 years old) COVID-19 survivors who were hospitalized during the first wave of the pandemic. A face-to-face interview in which patients described the presence of post-COVID-19 symptoms (defined as a symptom that started no later than three months after SARS-CoV-2 infection) that they suffered from to an experienced healthcare trainer was conducted. Methylation of five CpG dinucleotides in the ACE2 promoter was quantified using bisulfite pyrosequencing. The percentage of methylation (%) was associated with the presence of the following reported post-COVID-19 symptoms: fatigue, dyspnea at rest, dyspnea at exertion, brain fog, memory loss, concentration loss, or gastrointestinal problems. Participants were assessed a mean of 17.8 (SD: 5.3) months after hospitalization. At that time, 88.1% of the patients experienced at least one post-COVID-19 symptom (mean number for each patient: 3.0; SD: 1.9 post-COVID-19 symptoms). Dyspnea at exertion (67.3%), fatigue (62.3%), and memory loss (31.2%) were the most frequent post-COVID-19 symptoms in the sample. Overall, the analysis did not reveal any difference in the methylation of the ACE2 promoter in any of the CpG locations according to the presence or absence of fatigue, dyspnea at rest, dyspnea at exertion, memory loss, brain fog, concentration loss, and gastrointestinal problems. This study did not find an association between methylation of ACE2 promoter and the presence of post-COVID-19 fatigue, dyspnea, cognitive or gastrointestinal problems in previously hospitalized COVID-19 survivors.
KW - ACE2
KW - long COVID
KW - methylation
KW - post-COVID-19
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85199594921&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/microorganisms12071304
DO - 10.3390/microorganisms12071304
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 39065072
SN - 2076-2607
VL - 12
JO - Microorganisms
JF - Microorganisms
IS - 7
M1 - 1304
ER -