Investigation of vitamin D receptor gene BSMI variant in covid-19 patients with pancreas involvement

Objective: Covid-19 is a disease that was initially thought to attack only the upper respiratory tract, but was later found to affect many systems and organs. One of the organs it affects is the pancreas. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the relationship of Pancreatic Involvement with Vitamin D Receptor Gene BsmI (rs1544410) variant in Covid-19 patients and to lighten the mechanism of pancreatic uptake in Covid-19 patients. Method: In the study, people who had clinical findings of Covid-19 disease, had positive Quantitative Real-Time PCR (qRT-PCR) test results or were diagnosed with Covid-19 as a result of Thorax CT were included in the study group. The patient group consists of 120 Covid-19 patients with pancreatic involvement, and the control group consists of 113 Covid-19 patients without pancreatic involvement. Genotyping of the BsmI variant in the Vitamin D Receptor Gene was performed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) methods. Results: In the study, when the genotype and allele frequencies of the Vitamin D Receptor Gene BsmI variant were compared in the control and patient groups, no statistically significant difference was found (p>0.05). In addition, when the patient subgroups were compared within themselves, no statistically significant difference was found. Conclusion: No statistically significant relationship was found between pancreatic involvement and Vitamin D Receptor Gene BsmI (rs1544410) variant in Covid-19 patients. It shows that, we may not be said that the cause of pancreatic involvement due to Covid-19 is the Vitamin D Receptor Gene BsmI polymorphism. In order to verify the results of the study, there is a need for studies with different populations and more patient groups.