Genomic Characterization of Host Factors Related to SARS-CoV-2 Infection in People with Dementia and Control Populations: The GR@ACE/DEGESCO Study.
Itziar De RojasIsabel HernándezLaura MontrrealInés QuintelaMiguel Calero LaraJose Luís RoyoRaquel Huerto VilasAntonio González-PérezEmilio Franco-MacíasJuan MacíasMenéndez-González ManuelAna Frank-GarcíaMónica Diez-FairenCarmen LageSebastián García-MadronaNuria AguileraPablo García-GonzálezRaquel PuertaOscar Sotolongo-GrauSilvia Alonso-LanaAlberto RabanoAlfonso Arias PastorAna Belén PastorAnaïs Corma-GómezAngel Martín MontesCarmen Martínez RodríguezDolores Buiza-RuedaMaria Teresa PeriñánEloy Rodríguez-RodríguezIgnacio AlvarezIrene Rosas AllendeJuan A PinedaMaría Bernal Sánchez-ArjonaMarta Fernández-FuertesSilvia MendozaTeodoro Del Sernull Gr Ace/Degesco ConsortiumGuillermo Garcia-RibasPascual Sánchez-JuanPau PastorMaria Jesus BullidoVictoria AlvarezLuis Miguel RealPablo MirGerard Piñol-RipollJose María García-AlbercaMiguel Medina PadillaAdelina OrellanaChristopher R ButlerMarta MarquiéMaría Eugenia SáezAngel CarracedoLluís TárragaMercè BoadaAgustin RuizPublished in: Journal of personalized medicine (2021)
Emerging studies have suggested several chromosomal regions as potential host genetic factors involved in the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease outcome. We nested a COVID-19 genome-wide association study using the GR@ACE/DEGESCO study, searching for susceptibility factors associated with COVID-19 disease. To this end, we compared 221 COVID-19 confirmed cases with 17,035 individuals in whom the COVID-19 disease status was unknown. Then, we performed a meta-analysis with the publicly available data from the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative. Because the APOE locus has been suggested as a potential modifier of COVID-19 disease, we added sensitivity analyses stratifying by dementia status or by disease severity. We confirmed the existence of the 3p21.31 region ( LZTFL1, SLC6A20 ) implicated in the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and TYK2 gene might be involved in COVID-19 severity. Nevertheless, no statistically significant association was observed in the COVID-19 fatal outcome or in the stratified analyses (dementia-only and non-dementia strata) for the APOE locus not supporting its involvement in SARS-CoV-2 pathobiology or COVID-19 prognosis.