Toward finding the difference between untreated celiac disease and COVID-19 infected patients in terms of CD4, CD25 (IL-2 Rα), FOXP3 and IL-6 expressions as genes affecting immune homeostasis

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is defined as an emerging infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and celiac disease (CD) is one of the autoimmune multiorgan diseases, which can be accompanied by an increased risk of viral infections. CD patients, especially untreated subjects, may be at greater risk of infections such as viral illnesses. Interleukin (IL)-6, CD4, CD25, and FOXP3 are known as genes affecting immune homeostasis and relate to the inflammation state. This study aimed to compare the expression levels of aforementioned genes in peripheral blood samples of CD and severe COVID-19 patients. Sixty newly diagnosed CD patients with median age (mean ± SD) of 35.40 ± 24.12 years; thirty confirmed severe COVID-19 patients with median age (mean ± SD) of 59.67 ± 17.22, and 60 healthy subjects with median age (mean ± SD) of 35.6 ± 13.02 years; were recruited from March to September 2020. Fresh whole blood samples were collected, total RNA was obtained and cDNA synthesis was carried out. RNA expression levels of IL-6, CD4, CD25, and FOXP3 genes were assessed using real-time quantitative RT-PCR according to the 2 formula. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS (V.21) and GraphPad, Prism (V.6). While increased expression of CD4, CD25, and FOXP3 was observed in CD patients compared to the control group (p = 0.02, p = 0.03, and p