Toll-like receptor-2 (TLR-2) rs111200466 variant offers protection against SARS-CoV-2 infections and mortality: a worldwide epidemiological correlation analysis

Recently Toll-like receptor-2 has been shown to sense the envelope protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and initiate the production of inflammatory molecules. The expression and function of the TLR2 has been associated with several functional polymorphisms such as a 23 bp ins/del (rs111200466), Arg677Trp (rs121917864), and Arg753Gln (rs5743708). In the present study, we hypothesized that the TLR2 common functional variants would be associated with the worldwide incidence and mortality rate of SARS-CoV-2. The frequency of TLR2 polymorphisms and coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) were acquired from multiple databases, including genomAD, 1000 genome, dbSNP, and worldometer, respectively. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient analysis revealed a significant inverse correlation between the del allele of rs111200466 polymorphism with susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and related mortality at different times. In conclusion, the TLR2 rs111200466 minor allele (del) may be linked with susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infections and bad outcomes. However, further case-control studies in different populations are required to validate our observations.

Automated summary

In this study, the researchers found a significant negative correlation between the TLR2 rs111200466 polymorphism and susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and related mortality. This suggests that TLR2 may play an important role in SARS-CoV-2 infection, and further research is needed to validate these findings.