Analyzing the role of HLA class I molecules in COVID-19 disease in Africa and around the world

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has left a devasting effect on various regions globally. Africa has exceptionally high rates of other infectious diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and malaria, and was not impacted by COVID-19 to the extent of other continents (1). Globally, COVID-19 caused approximately 7 million deaths and 700 million infections thus far. COVID-19 disease severity and susceptibility vary among individuals and populations which could be attributed to various factors including the viral strain, host genetics, environment, lifespan, and co-existing conditions. Host genetics play a substantial part in COVID-19 disease severity among individuals. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) was previously shown to be very important across host immune responses against viruses. HLA has been a widely studied gene region for various disease associations that have been identified. HLA proteins present peptides to the cytotoxic lymphocytes which causes an immune response to kill infected cells. The HLA molecule serves as the central region for infectious disease association; therefore, we expect HLA disease association with COVID-19. Therefore, in this review, we look at the HLA gene region, particularly, HLA class I, and understand its role in COVID-19 disease.