LAUSR

BACKGROUND It has been reported that the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic originated in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and spread rapidly worldwide. The virus gets entry into target cells via angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors and its gene is highly polymorphic. INTRODUCTION the variations in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and severity can be explained on a genetic level by studying the polymorphism in ACE2 receptor polymorphism. OBJECTIVE A prospective case-control study was designed to compare the ACE2 levels in SARS-CoV-2 patients with the healthy controls in the local population, for which a total of 100 EDTA-containing blood samples were included (50 SARS-CoV-2 IgM positive case and 50 healthy controls). METHODS PCR-RFLP was performed to investigate the polymorphism of ACE2 in genomic DNA and the ACE2 plasma levels were determined through ELISA. RESULTS No significant difference in allelic and genotype frequencies (GG, GA, AA) were observed while the ACE2 plasma levels were found to be decreased in positive samples. CONCLUSION No significant association of the ACE2 gene polymorphism (G8790A) was found with the SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility in the Pakistani population which intimates the search for other genetic factors within the local population.