Chikungunya Virus Infection Outcome: A Systematic Review of Host Genetics

ABSTRACT

Background: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a global concern, inducing chikungunya fever and trigging an arthritogenic chronic phase beyond some severe forms. Outcomes of CHIKV infections in humans are dependent on genetic variations. Here, a systematic review was performed to show evidence of genetic variations on infection outcomes of patients.

Methods: Searches were performed in Scopus, SciELO, MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science, OneFile (GALE), Periódicos CAPES and ScienceDirect Journals databases. The PICOS approach was used to assess the eligibility of records. A meta-analysis was also conducted to show an association between described alleles/genes and CHIKV infection outcome.

Results: Reviews of genetic variants were conducted on genes: CD 209, OAS1, OAS2, OAS3, MIF, TLR-3, TLR-7, TLR-8, MYD-88, KIR, HLA-B; HLA-C; DRB1 and DQB1. Studies were performed on Gabon, Singapore, and India, including Indians, Malay, Gabonese and Chinese ethnicities and published between 2009–2017. The meta-analysis was performed with DRB1 *01; *03; *04; *07; *10; *11; *13; *14 and *15 and DQB1 *02; *03; *05 and *06 alleles with Indian population sample. Sampling power was >80% and a significant positive association between DRB1*14 and CHIKV infection was found (OR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.04–2.67; p = .03).

Conclusion: Majority of the studies were conducted in India. Meta-analysis suggests that DRB1*14 is related to the susceptibility of symptomatic CHIKV infection in Indian population. The literature about CHIKV infection and genetic variations is scarce. The precise role of genetic variation in CHIKV is not clear yet. Further studies are necessary to provide more concrete evidences.

KEYWORDS:

• CHIKV
• arbovirus infection
• genetic polymorphism
• HLA II genes

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr. Jean Carlos Vencioneck Dutra for proofreading the manuscript.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

Supplementary Material

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Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Fundação de Amparo a Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE) MSc Scholarship under Grant EDITAL FACEPE 09/2017 (IBPG-0293-2.08/17). The opinions, assumptions, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of FACEPE; Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco [IBPG-0293-2.08/17].