A laboratory-based study of COVID-19 in Casablanca, Morocco.

Given the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its impact on human health, laboratory confirmation of diagnosis is essential. This study examined the contribution of laboratory diagnosis to the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the diagnosis of COVID-19, taking into account patient risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2, clinical symptoms and comorbidities. A cross-sectional, laboratory-based study was carried out from 1 April 2020 to 30 April 2020 at the National Reference Laboratory in Morocco using nasopharyngeal samples from patients admitted to the Cheikh Khalifa International University Hospital or other hospitals in Casablanca. A one-step reverse transcription real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 genome. A national epidemiological investigation form was used to analyze patient exposure risk, clinical symptoms and comorbidities. A total of 793 samples from 375 patients were analyzed and 1150 RT-PCR tests were conducted; 116 patients (30.93%) were COVID-19 positive. Travel to a risk zone, contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case and contact with a person who had been in a risk zone were significantly associated with being positive for COVID-19. Fever and cough were the main symptoms; 7.76 % of positive patients were asymptomatic. This is the first laboratory-based study in Morocco for the diagnosis of COVID-19. Laboratory diagnosis of COVID-19 by RTPCR associated with knowledge of exposure risk factors and clinical symptoms and comorbidities remains essential for clinicians for early, appropriate medical management COVID-19 patients.

Genome Sequences of Six SARS-CoV-2 Strains Isolated in Morocco, Obtained Using Oxford Nanopore MinION Technology.

Here, we report the draft genome sequences of six severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) strains. SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, which started at the end of 2019 in Wuhan, China. The isolates were obtained from nasopharyngeal swabs from Moroccan patients with COVID-19. Mutation analysis revealed the presence of the spike D614G mutation in all six genomes, which is widely present in several genomes around the world.

The single nucleotide polymorphism +936 C/T VEGF is associated with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 expression in Moroccan breast cancer women.

The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a potent regulator of angiogenesis, is involved in the development and progression of breast cancer (BC). The functional +936 C/T polymorphism of the VEGF-A gene has been implicated in BC susceptibility; however, published data are conflicting. In the current case-control study, we analyzed the association of the +936 C/T polymorphism with BC risk and tumor markers expression, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2/neu) and caner antigen 15.3 (CA 15.3) in Moroccan women. We genotyped the DNA of 70 BC patients and 70 healthy women by TaqMan SNP assays. The χ(2) test and Fisher's exact test were used for statistical analyses. The overall results revealed that there is no association between the +936 C/T polymorphism and BC risk [p = 0.8; OR 0.87, 95 % CI (0.32-2.42)]. However, when we stratified the group of patients according to the status of tumor markers, a statistical significant association of +936 C/T SNP and HER2/neu expression was observed (p = 0.009). In contrast, no association with the other tumor marker, CA 15.3, was found (p = 0.090). Thus, the +936 C/T polymorphism seems to have a correlation with HER/neu expression in BC disease.

Investigating the association of vascular endothelial growth factor polymorphisms with breast cancer: a Moroccan case-control study.

The main mediator of breast cancer (BC) angiogenesis is the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Variation of VEGF-A gene may influence the BC susceptibility. The present case-control study investigated the association of the four commonly studied single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of VEGF-A, namely: -1154A/G (rs1570360), -2578C/A (rs699947), -634G/C (rs2010963) and -460T/C (rs833061) with BC susceptibility and aggressiveness in Moroccan women. After genomic DNA extraction, genotyping was performed by TaqMan SNP assays on 70 BC patients and 70 healthy women. The χ2 test was used to detect differences in the genotype frequencies of VEGF between the groups and to stratify genotypes by the clinico-pathological characteristics in patient's group. Women carriers of -1154AG + AA and -2578AC + AA VEGF genotypes had a reduced risk to develop BC [p = 0.018, OR 2.25 95 % CI (1.14-4.42) and p = 0.022, OR 2.26 95 % CI (1.12-4.58), respectively]. Carriers of -460CT and CT + CC genotypes had also a reduced risk to develop BC [p = 0.045, OR 2.63 95 % CI (1.19-5.84) and p = 0.043, OR 2.12 95 % CI (1.01-4.43), respectively]. Moreover, the A-1154A-2578G-634C-460 haplotype seems to have a protective effect against BC risk [p = 0.007, OR 2.41 95 % CI (1.27-4.55)]. Stratification for BC patients according to clinico-pathological characteristics reveals no association with any of VEGF-A SNPs. In conclusion, the data indicated significant associations of VEGF -1154A/G, -2578C/A and -460T/C polymorphisms with BC susceptibility in Moroccan individuals. These VEGF-A polymorphisms can be useful as predisposing genetic markers for BC. Further larger-scale studies are necessary to confirm our finding.