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World J Hepatol. Mar 27, 2026; 18(3): 112850
Published online Mar 27, 2026. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v18.i3.112850
Published online Mar 27, 2026. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v18.i3.112850
Immunogenetic and molecular biomarkers in COVID-19 and hepatitis C virus infection: Evaluating the diagnostic potential of HLA (rs1131500), IGF-2, and I-FABP
Amal Ahmed Mohamed, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Cairo 11796, Egypt
Rasha M Abdel-Hamid, Department of Clinical Pathology, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Cairo 11562, Egypt
Amr Amin, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates
Eman Al Hussain A Gawad, Salma Mohamed Saed, Department of Clinical and Chemical Pathology, Cairo University, Cairo 11796, Egypt
Dalia A Gaber, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Helwan Uni
Mohamed Ezz Al Arab, Department of Hepatogastroenterology, National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Cairo 11796, Egypt
Waleed El-Agawy, Department of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Port Said University, Port Fouad 42526, Egypt
Mohammed Zakaria Ali AbuRahma, Department of Tropical Medicine and Gastroenterology, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt
Heba Hanafy Elosaily, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ahram Canadian University, Giza 12585, Egypt
Elsaeed E Shaaban, Department of Internal Medicine, The General Organization for Teaching Hospitals and Institute, Cairo 11796, Egypt
Shaymaa A Ismail, Department of Chemistry of Natural and Microbial Products, Pharmaceutical Industry Research Institute, Giza 12622, Egypt
Amany A Sakr, Department of Biotechnology and Life Sciences, Faculty of Postgraduate Studies for Advanced Sciences, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef 62511, Egypt
Author contributions: Mohamed AA contributed to the study design, supervised the research, and participated in the review process; Abdel-Hamid RM, Amin A, Gawad EAHA, Saed SM were involved in clinical examination, sampling and data collection; Gaber DA, Ezz Al Arab MA, and El-Agawy W performed the ELISA testing; AbuRahma MZA, Elosaily HH, Shaaban EE, and Ismail SA participated in performing the genotyping tests; Sakr AA contributed to the study design, performed the statistical analysis, interpreted the results, and wrote the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Research Institute’s Research Ethics Committee (REC) for Human Subject Research approved the study protocol. The NHTMRI-IRB operates in accordance with the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval for this study was granted under serial number 8/22.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from all participants before inclusion in the study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement- checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this manuscript.
Corresponding author: Amany A Sakr, PhD, Department of Biotechnology and Life Sciences, Faculty of Postgraduate Studies for Advanced Sciences, Beni-Suef University, East of Nile, Al Menia Al Wasta Street, Beni-Suef 62511, Egypt.
Received: August 8, 2025
Revised: September 29, 2025
Accepted: December 24, 2025
Published online: March 27, 2026
Processing time: 230 Days and 14.8 Hours
Revised: September 29, 2025
Accepted: December 24, 2025
Published online: March 27, 2026
Processing time: 230 Days and 14.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study identifies insulin-like growth factor 2 as a robust molecular biomarker for distinguishing between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), hepatitis C virus, and co-infection, with the highest diagnostic performance in co-infected individuals. Intestinal fatty-acid-binding protein showed selective utility in coinfections, while interferon-gamma displayed a protective association. Genotyping of human leukocyte antigen rs1131500 revealed the TT genotype as more frequent in COVID-19 and coinfection cases, suggesting a potential immunogenetic risk factor. These findings provide new insight into host immune responses and offer clinically relevant biomarkers for the diagnosis and personalized management of viral infections.