Dejan Baskić, full professor, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac
SVETOVID-19
Human genetic and epigenetic determinants of susceptibility, severity and outcomes in SARS-CoV-2 infection
The mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 infection are very complex and the outcomes of the disease in humans are highly variable, so the project aims to examine the impact of various genetic, demographic and clinical factors in individuals on infection, disease and outcome.
The research will include the analysis of the influence of different variations of certain human genes on the immune and clinical response after infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which are professionally called genetic polymorphism and gene methylation. The analysis will also take into account the influence of other important factors such as demographic factors, gender and age, symptoms and signs of the disease, as well as medications and other therapies of interest. The overall result of the analysis of the influence of all the mentioned factors will be shaped into a model for predicting the outcome of the infection and the disease itself, with a reasonable probability of reliability.
The project is based on the perceived need to provide new knowledge on how the human body responds to SARS-CoV-2 virus infection and to improve existing models for predicting the course and outcome of COVID-19. The research will be conducted in several phases, first by taking blood samples of patients and collecting data on their demographic characteristics and the characteristics of the disease itself. The presence of genetic polymorphism and methylation of genes of interest will then be determined from the blood samples of the subjects. All collected data will be analyzed using appropriate statistical methods. In that way, those that are of the greatest importance for the course of the infection and the outcome of the disease will stand out from the large number of individual factors. These factors will be the basis for creating the mentioned model of prediction in clinical practice.
The main goal of the project is to create a new clinical rule based on an algorithm model. The input parameters of this algorithm will be those genetic, demographic and clinical characteristics of a given patient that have been found to significantly and independently, by themselves, affect the course of infection and disease outcome. The final result of the algorithm will show the probability that the exposed person will be infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and that patients with COVID-19 will have the most severe clinical forms of the disease.
The results of the study will provide new, fundamental knowledge about which genes are involved in response to SARS-CoV-2 virus infection, how the immune system responds during disease development, and which factors indicate that some patients will have severe forms of COVID-19 and adverse treatment outcomes. . Using this knowledge, researchers will create an appropriate prediction model that can be used in clinical practice to determine in a timely manner the extent to which a patient is at risk of developing the most severe clinical form of COVID-19 over time, which could potentially endanger his life.
The potential benefits of the research results are numerous and include the scientific community, physicians in clinical practice, public health experts and the wider community.
The research results are expected to be widely used. Increasing knowledge in this area enables the flow of new ideas and future research and helps physicians to assess with greater certainty the risks of adverse clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Public health professionals and the wider community can use project results in planning prevention and control of the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus in the population, especially for the purpose of proper allocation of existing capacities-resources intended for the fight against the pandemic.
The project, strictly speaking, does not specifically envisage cooperation with the economy because the goals of the research are not of a commercial nature. However, the potential for such cooperation exists, especially in the field of information technology. In this sense, upgrading the final model of clinical prediction using appropriate software packages and applications that would allow easy application on existing technology platforms could be important for the market of goods and services in this economic sector.
The project team consists of researchers with expertise in genetics, microbiology, immunology, infectious diseases, pharmacology and therapy, pharmacoepidemiology, clinical toxicology, drug side effects, pharmacokinetics, internal medicine, hematology and organic chemistry. One quarter of the team consists of young researchers for whom participation in this project will be an important step in the development of their own scientific career. The senior researchers in the team are the authors of numerous scientific papers in the given fields and are already collaborating with other research groups of the university, including participation in other scientific research projects.
The work on the project will engage significant scientific research capacities of faculties and universities and help improve the professional expertise of researchers, develop the careers of young members of the research team and improve the quality of work of scientific research organizations. The results of the project will be published in scientific journals and announced at scientific conferences. In that way, the domestic scientific community and the society as a whole will be additionally affirmed, because the new knowledge will be recognized both in the domestic and international public as a significant contribution to the general knowledge and clinical practice.
Consequently, working on the project represents a unique research challenge. He is embodied in the need to shed light on a completely new phenomenon in nature important for the health of people and the community, as well as to see the great dynamics of the pandemic with the emergence of new variants of the virus.
In addition to the fact that this project is aimed at researching infection with new pathogens, SARS-CoV-2 virus and new diseases COVID-19, which is a unique research challenge, the great importance of the project is the possibility of research capacity of researchers involved in this project. elevate to a much higher level. At the same time, it is especially important that the possibility of working on this project will significantly help the career development of young members of the research team, for whom this will be an important step in the development of their own scientific career.