Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Virol. Jul 25, 2021; 10(4): 137-155
Published online Jul 25, 2021. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v10.i4.137
Hypotheses and facts for genetic factors related to severe COVID-19
Stanislav Vasilev Kotsev, Dimitrina Miteva, Stanislava Krayselska, Martina Shopova, Maria Pishmisheva-Peleva, Spaska Angelova Stanilova, Tsvetelina Velikova
Stanislav Vasilev Kotsev, Martina Shopova, Maria Pishmisheva-Peleva, Department of Infectious Diseases, Pazardzhik Multiprofile Hospital for Active Treatment, Pazardzhik 4400, Bulgaria
Dimitrina Miteva, Department of Genetics, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Sofia 1000, Bulgaria
Stanislava Krayselska, Private Practice General Praxis, Sofia 1113, Bulgaria
Spaska Angelova Stanilova, Department of Molecular Biology, Immunology and Medical Genetics, Medical Faculty, Trakia University, Stara Zagora 6000, Bulgaria
Tsvetelina Velikova, Department of Clinical Immunology, University Hospital Lozenetz, Sofia 1407, Bulgaria
Tsvetelina Velikova, Medical Faculty, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Sofia 1407, Bulgaria
Author contributions: All the authors wrote sections in the paper; all authors revised and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflict of interests for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Tsvetelina Velikova, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Immunology, University Hospital Lozenetz, Kozyak 1 Street, Sofia 1407, Bulgaria. tsvelikova@medfac.mu-sofia.bg
Received: February 28, 2021
Peer-review started: February 28, 2021
First decision: May 5, 2021
Revised: May 19, 2021
Accepted: May 23, 2021
Article in press: May 23, 2021
Published online: July 25, 2021
Core Tip

Core Tip: Understanding what contributes to the development of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can be of considerable clinical and therapeutic advantage. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection may present with different COVID-19 manifestations, where various host genetic factors influence the viral susceptibility, immune response, disease progression, and outcomes. Genome-wide association analysis allows the identification of potential candidate genes involved in the development of severe COVID-19. Hence, it seems that genetics matters here, as well.