Interleukin-38 promoter variants and risk of COVID-19 among Iraqis.

Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has recently emerged as a respiratory infection with a significant impact on health and society. The pathogenesis is primarily attributed to a dysregulation of cytokines, especially those with pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory effects. Interleukin-38 (IL-38) is a recently identified anti-inflammatory cytokine with a proposed involvement in mediating COVID-19 pathogenesis, while the association between IL38 gene variants and disease susceptibility has not been explored.

Evaluation of interleukin-38 levels in serum of patients with coronavirus disease 2019.

Interleukin-38 (IL-38) has recently been considered as a cytokine with anti-inflammatory properties in viral respiratory infections, particularly coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19), but the evidence has not been well elucidated. Therefore, a case-control study was conducted to determine IL-38 serum levels in 148 patients with COVID-19 (45 moderate, 55 severe, and 48 critical) and 113 controls. Results demonstrated that IL-38 levels did not show significant differences between patients and controls (68.