COVID-19 Is a Multi-Organ Aggressor: Epigenetic and Clinical Marks

Mankgopo Magdeline Kgatle; Ismaheel Opeyemi Lawal; Gabriel Mashabela; Tebatso Moshoeu Gillian Boshomane; Palesa Caroline Koatale; Phetole Walter Mahasha; Honest Ndlovu; Mariza Vorster; Hosana Gomes Rodrigues; Jan Rijn Zeevaart; Siamon Gordon; Pedro Moura-Alves; Mike Machaba Sathekge

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2021.752380

COVID-19 Is a Multi-Organ Aggressor: Epigenetic and Clinical Marks

Front Immunol. 2021 Oct 8:12:752380. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.752380. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Mankgopo Magdeline Kgatle^{1

2}, Ismaheel Opeyemi Lawal^{1

2

3}, Gabriel Mashabela⁴, Tebatso Moshoeu Gillian Boshomane^{1

2

3

5}, Palesa Caroline Koatale^{1

2}, Phetole Walter Mahasha⁶, Honest Ndlovu², Mariza Vorster², Hosana Gomes Rodrigues⁷, Jan Rijn Zeevaart^{1

8

9}, Siamon Gordon^{9

10}, Pedro Moura-Alves¹¹, Mike Machaba Sathekge^{1

2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Nuclear Medicine Research Infrastructure (NuMeRI), Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Pretoria, South Africa.
² Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Pretoria & Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Pretoria, South Africa.
³ Department of Nuclear Medicine, Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Pretoria, South Africa.
⁴ SAMRC/NHLS/UCT Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit, DSI/NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research, Department of Pathology and Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
⁵ Nuclear and Oncology Division, AXIM Medical (Pty), Midrand.
⁶ Precision Medicine and SAMRC Genomic Centre, Grants, Innovation, and Product Development (GIPD) Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa.
⁷ Laboratory of Nutrients and Tissue Repair, School of Applied Sciences, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil.
⁸ South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, Radiochemistry and NuMeRI PreClinical Imaging Facility, Mahikeng, South Africa.
⁹ Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan.
¹⁰ Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
¹¹ Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.

Abstract

The progression of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), resulting from a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, may be influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Several viruses hijack the host genome machinery for their own advantage and survival, and similar phenomena might occur upon SARS-CoV-2 infection. Severe cases of COVID-19 may be driven by metabolic and epigenetic driven mechanisms, including DNA methylation and histone/chromatin alterations. These epigenetic phenomena may respond to enhanced viral replication and mediate persistent long-term infection and clinical phenotypes associated with severe COVID-19 cases and fatalities. Understanding the epigenetic events involved, and their clinical significance, may provide novel insights valuable for the therapeutic control and management of the COVID-19 pandemic. This review highlights different epigenetic marks potentially associated with COVID-19 development, clinical manifestation, and progression.

Keywords: ACE2; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; TMPRSS2; cytokine storm; epigenetics; multi-organ; pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

COVID-19 / genetics
COVID-19 / immunology*
DNA Methylation / immunology*
Epigenesis, Genetic / immunology*
Humans
Organ Specificity
Pandemics
SARS-CoV-2 / immunology*