Oxidative Stress Influence and Some Gene SNPs of Leucine Zipper Transcription Factor Like 1 in Covid-19 Patients

Abstract

Background: The leucine zipper transcription factor-like 1 (LZTFL1) gene at chromosome 3p21.31 is associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity. Data on LZTFL1 polymorphisms in Middle Eastern populations are scarce. Objectives: This pilot study reports allele frequencies for rs530118201 and rs72876529 in an Iraqi cohort. Methods: A case-control study enrolled 50 COVID-19 patients and 30 healthy controls from Babylon Province, Iraq. Genotyping was performed using Sanger sequencing with bidirectional validation. Results: Minor allele frequencies (MAF) were: rs530118201 C allele = 0.030 in patients (95% CI: 0.006 - 0.085), 0.017 in controls (95% CI: 0.001 - 0.091); rs72876529 G allele = 0.060 in patients (95% CI: 0.022 - 0.126), 0.033 in controls (95% CI: 0.004 - 0.115). No statistically significant disease associations were detected (P > 0.05), attributable to limited sample size (n = 80 total), conferring < 20% statistical power. Biochemical comparisons were confounded by significant age mismatch (patients 51.6 years vs. controls 27.3 years; P = 0.001). Conclusions: This pilot study provides first-reported allele frequencies for LZTFL1 variants rs530118201 and rs72876529 in an underrepresented Iraqi population, contributing population-specific genetic data for future meta-analyses. Negative findings help prevent publication bias in COVID-19 genetic research. Adequately powered studies (n ≥ 2,000 cases) with age-matched controls are required for definitive association testing.