{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,8]],"date-time":"2026-08-08T00:44:30Z","timestamp":1786149870308,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Journal of Infection in Developing Countries","issue":"07","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]],"date-time":"2026-07-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785456000000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J Infect Dev Ctries"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Introduction: DNA methylation might influence the expression of genes that regulate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) progression. This work explored the significance of DNA methylation of 7 genes (TAC1, CDO1, HOXA9, ZFP42, SOX17, RASSF1A, and SHOX2) in blood circulating free DNA (cfDNA) in differentiating COVID-19 infections and recoveries. The correlation with changes in the proportion of immune cell populations in the recovery period was analyzed.\nMethodology: 18 COVID-19-infected, 65 COVID-19-recovered, and 11 uninfected individuals were included. DNA methylation expression was determined by quantitative multiplex methylation-specific PCR (qMSP). The immune function of the recovered group versus uninfected group was evaluated by full-spectrum flow cytometry.\nResults: The infected population showed a higher methylation positivity rate for 7 genes compared to the uninfected\/recovered population. A model was constructed to distinguish the infected patients from uninfected\/recovered individuals using the methylation status of 7 genes, with a sensitivity, specificity and area under curve (AUC) of 0.889, 0.842 and 0.931, respectively. The results of flow cytometry revealed that CD8+ T cells and CD38+ CD8+ T cells were significantly upregulated in recovered individuals compared to those in uninfected individuals. DNA methylation was correlated with immune cell changes, with a significant increase in the percentage of T cells, PD-1+ function CD4+ T cells, TCR\u03b3\u03b4+ cells, and CD38+ NKT cells upon an increase in 7 gene methylation positivity.\nConclusions: This work revealed the significance of 7 gene methylation in the diagnosis of COVID-19 recovery, and demonstrated that these genes were significant in evaluating the immune function during the recovery period.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3855\/jidc.21864","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,8]],"date-time":"2026-08-08T00:12:30Z","timestamp":1786147950000},"page":"944-953","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Detection of the DNA methylation of seven genes contributes to monitoring recovery from COVID-19"],"prefix":"10.3855","volume":"20","author":[{"given":"Xiao","family":"Xiao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ren","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chaoxiang","family":"Du","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jun","family":"Yin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Beibei","family":"Xin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhonghe","family":"Ke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiyan","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hao","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-5057-2682","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xinyu","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2222","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]]},"container-title":["The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/jidc.org\/index.php\/journal\/article\/download\/21864\/3917","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/jidc.org\/index.php\/journal\/article\/download\/21864\/3917","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,8]],"date-time":"2026-08-08T00:12:31Z","timestamp":1786147951000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/jidc.org\/index.php\/journal\/article\/view\/21864"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"07","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3855\/jidc.21864","relation":{},"ISSN":["1972-2680"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1972-2680","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]]}}}