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Cardona F, Pérez-Tur J. Special Issue "Molecular and Genetic Aspects of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and COVID-19 Disease". Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:4670. [PMID: 38731889 PMCID: PMC11083453 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25094670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2024] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024] Open
Abstract
We are pleased to present the first and second editions of this Special Issue, titled "Molecular and Genetic Aspects of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and COVID-19 Disease", of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences [...].
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernando Cardona
- Unitat de Genètica Molecular, Institut de Biomedicina de València-CSIC, Jaume Roig 11, 46010 València, Spain
- CIBERNED, ISCIII, 46010 València, Spain
| | - Jordi Pérez-Tur
- Unitat de Genètica Molecular, Institut de Biomedicina de València-CSIC, Jaume Roig 11, 46010 València, Spain
- CIBERNED, ISCIII, 46010 València, Spain
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Yin Y, Zhang Y, Sun L, Wang S, Zeng Y, Gong B, Huang L, He Y, Yang Z. Association analysis of genetic variants in critical patients with COVID-19 and validation in a Chinese population. Virol Sin 2024; 39:347-350. [PMID: 38403118 DOI: 10.1016/j.virs.2024.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/27/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Yi Yin
- Center for Natural Products Research, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610213, China; Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Disease Gene Study, Center for Medical Genetics, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, China; Research Unit for Blindness Prevention of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2019RU026), Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Yi Zhang
- Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Disease Gene Study, Center for Medical Genetics, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, China; Research Unit for Blindness Prevention of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2019RU026), Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, China
| | - Lelin Sun
- Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Disease Gene Study, Center for Medical Genetics, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, China
| | - Shuqiang Wang
- Infectious Disease Department, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, China
| | - Yong Zeng
- Department of Ophthalmology, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, China
| | - Bo Gong
- Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Disease Gene Study, Center for Medical Genetics, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, China; Research Unit for Blindness Prevention of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2019RU026), Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, China
| | - Lulin Huang
- Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Disease Gene Study, Center for Medical Genetics, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, China; Research Unit for Blindness Prevention of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2019RU026), Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, China.
| | - Yongquan He
- Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Disease Gene Study, Center for Medical Genetics, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, China; Research Unit for Blindness Prevention of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2019RU026), Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, China.
| | - Zhenglin Yang
- Center for Natural Products Research, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610213, China; Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Disease Gene Study, Center for Medical Genetics, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, China; Research Unit for Blindness Prevention of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2019RU026), Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
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Naidoo L, Arumugam T, Ramsuran V. Host Genetic Impact on Infectious Diseases among Different Ethnic Groups. ADVANCED GENETICS (HOBOKEN, N.J.) 2023; 4:2300181. [PMID: 38099246 PMCID: PMC10716055 DOI: 10.1002/ggn2.202300181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Revised: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
Infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis (TB), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) are problematic globally, with high prevalence particularly in Africa, attributing to most of the death rates. There have been immense efforts toward developing effective preventative and therapeutic strategies for these pathogens globally, however, some remain uncured. Disease susceptibility and progression for malaria, TB, HIV, and COVID-19 vary among individuals and are attributed to precautionary measures, environment, host, and pathogen genetics. While studying individuals with similar attributes, it is suggested that host genetics contributes to most of an individual's susceptibility to disease. Several host genes are identified to associate with these pathogens. Interestingly, many of these genes and polymorphisms are common across diseases. This paper analyzes genes and genetic variations within host genes associated with HIV, TB, malaria, and COVID-19 among different ethnic groups. The differences in host-pathogen interaction among these groups, particularly of Caucasian and African descent, and which gene polymorphisms are prevalent in an African population that possesses protection or risk to disease are reviewed. The information in this review could potentially help develop personalized treatment that could effectively combat the high disease burden in Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Naidoo
- School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical SciencesCollege of Health SciencesUniversity of KwaZulu‐NatalDurban4041South Africa
| | - Thilona Arumugam
- School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical SciencesCollege of Health SciencesUniversity of KwaZulu‐NatalDurban4041South Africa
| | - Veron Ramsuran
- School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical SciencesCollege of Health SciencesUniversity of KwaZulu‐NatalDurban4041South Africa
- Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA)University of KwaZulu‐NatalDurban4041South Africa
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Sayın Kocakap DB, Kaygusuz S, Aksoy E, Şahin Ö, Baççıoğlu A, Ekici A, Kalpaklıoğlu AF, Ekici MS, Gül S, Kaçmaz B, Ayaşlıoğlu Açıkgöz E, Alyılmaz Bekmez S, Rouse BT, Azkur AK. Adverse effect of VEGFR-2 (rs1870377) polymorphism on the clinical course of COVID-19 in females and males in an age-dependent manner. Microbes Infect 2023; 25:105188. [PMID: 37499788 DOI: 10.1016/j.micinf.2023.105188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/22/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected people worldwide with varying clinical presentations ranging from mild to severe or fatal, and studies have found that age, gender, and some comorbidities can influence the severity of the disease. It would be valuable to have genetic markers that might help predict the likely outcome of infection. For this objective, genes encoding VEGFR-2 (rs1870377), CCR5Δ32 (rs333), and TLR3 (rs5743313) were analyzed for polymorphisms in the peripheral blood of 160 COVID-19 patients before COVID-19 vaccine was available in Türkiye. We observed that possession of the VEGFR-2 rs1870377 mutant allele increased the risk of severe/moderate disease in females and subjects ≥65 years of age, but was protective in males <65 years of age. Other significant results were that the CCR5Δ32 allele was protective against severe disease in subjects ≥65 years of age, while TLR3 rs5743313 polymorphism was found to be protective against severe/moderate illness in males <65 years of age. The VEGFR-2 rs1870377 mutant allele was a risk factor for severe/moderate disease, particularly in females over the age of 65. These findings suggest that genetic polymorphisms have an age- and sex-dependent influence on the severity of COVID-19, and the VEGFR-2 rs1870377 mutant allele could be a potential predictor of disease severity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sedat Kaygusuz
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Emel Aksoy
- Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Ömer Şahin
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Ayşe Baççıoğlu
- Department of Allergy and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye; Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Aydanur Ekici
- Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Ayşe Füsun Kalpaklıoğlu
- Department of Allergy and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye; Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Mehmet Savaş Ekici
- Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Serdar Gül
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Birgül Kaçmaz
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Ergin Ayaşlıoğlu Açıkgöz
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Sibel Alyılmaz Bekmez
- Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Barry T Rouse
- College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - Ahmet Kürşat Azkur
- Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye.
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Forgacova N, Holesova Z, Hekel R, Sedlackova T, Pos Z, Krivosikova L, Janega P, Kuracinova KM, Babal P, Radvak P, Radvanszky J, Gazdarica J, Budis J, Szemes T. Evaluation and limitations of different approaches among COVID-19 fatal cases using whole-exome sequencing data. BMC Genomics 2023; 24:12. [PMID: 36627554 PMCID: PMC9830622 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-022-09084-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 infection may result in various disease symptoms and severity, ranging from asymptomatic, through mildly symptomatic, up to very severe and even fatal cases. Although environmental, clinical, and social factors play important roles in both susceptibility to the SARS-CoV-2 infection and progress of COVID-19 disease, it is becoming evident that both pathogen and host genetic factors are important too. In this study, we report findings from whole-exome sequencing (WES) of 27 individuals who died due to COVID-19, especially focusing on frequencies of DNA variants in genes previously associated with the SARS-CoV-2 infection and the severity of COVID-19. RESULTS We selected the risk DNA variants/alleles or target genes using four different approaches: 1) aggregated GWAS results from the GWAS Catalog; 2) selected publications from PubMed; 3) the aggregated results of the Host Genetics Initiative database; and 4) a commercial DNA variant annotation/interpretation tool providing its own knowledgebase. We divided these variants/genes into those reported to influence the susceptibility to the SARS-CoV-2 infection and those influencing the severity of COVID-19. Based on the above, we compared the frequencies of alleles found in the fatal COVID-19 cases to the frequencies identified in two population control datasets (non-Finnish European population from the gnomAD database and genomic frequencies specific for the Slovak population from our own database). When compared to both control population datasets, our analyses indicated a trend of higher frequencies of severe COVID-19 associated risk alleles among fatal COVID-19 cases. This trend reached statistical significance specifically when using the HGI-derived variant list. We also analysed other approaches to WES data evaluation, demonstrating its utility as well as limitations. CONCLUSIONS Although our results proved the likely involvement of host genetic factors pointed out by previous studies looking into severity of COVID-19 disease, careful considerations of the molecular-testing strategies and the evaluated genomic positions may have a strong impact on the utility of genomic testing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Forgacova
- grid.7634.60000000109409708Comenius University Science Park, Bratislava, 841 04 Slovakia ,grid.7634.60000000109409708Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, 841 04 Slovakia ,grid.419303.c0000 0001 2180 9405Institute of Clinical and Translational Research, Biomedical Research Centre, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, 845 05 Slovakia
| | | | - Rastislav Hekel
- grid.7634.60000000109409708Comenius University Science Park, Bratislava, 841 04 Slovakia ,grid.7634.60000000109409708Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, 841 04 Slovakia ,grid.455020.6Geneton Ltd, Bratislava, 841 04 Slovakia ,grid.450672.20000 0001 2169 605XSlovak Centre of Scientific and Technical Information, Bratislava, 811 04 Slovakia
| | - Tatiana Sedlackova
- grid.7634.60000000109409708Comenius University Science Park, Bratislava, 841 04 Slovakia ,grid.455020.6Geneton Ltd, Bratislava, 841 04 Slovakia
| | - Zuzana Pos
- grid.7634.60000000109409708Comenius University Science Park, Bratislava, 841 04 Slovakia ,grid.419303.c0000 0001 2180 9405Institute of Clinical and Translational Research, Biomedical Research Centre, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, 845 05 Slovakia ,grid.455020.6Geneton Ltd, Bratislava, 841 04 Slovakia
| | - Lucia Krivosikova
- grid.7634.60000000109409708Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, 813 72 Slovakia
| | - Pavol Janega
- grid.7634.60000000109409708Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, 813 72 Slovakia
| | - Kristina Mikus Kuracinova
- grid.7634.60000000109409708Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, 813 72 Slovakia
| | - Pavel Babal
- grid.7634.60000000109409708Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, 813 72 Slovakia
| | - Peter Radvak
- grid.7634.60000000109409708Comenius University Science Park, Bratislava, 841 04 Slovakia
| | - Jan Radvanszky
- grid.7634.60000000109409708Comenius University Science Park, Bratislava, 841 04 Slovakia ,grid.7634.60000000109409708Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, 841 04 Slovakia ,grid.419303.c0000 0001 2180 9405Institute of Clinical and Translational Research, Biomedical Research Centre, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, 845 05 Slovakia ,grid.455020.6Geneton Ltd, Bratislava, 841 04 Slovakia
| | - Juraj Gazdarica
- grid.7634.60000000109409708Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, 841 04 Slovakia ,grid.455020.6Geneton Ltd, Bratislava, 841 04 Slovakia ,grid.450672.20000 0001 2169 605XSlovak Centre of Scientific and Technical Information, Bratislava, 811 04 Slovakia
| | - Jaroslav Budis
- grid.7634.60000000109409708Comenius University Science Park, Bratislava, 841 04 Slovakia ,grid.455020.6Geneton Ltd, Bratislava, 841 04 Slovakia ,grid.450672.20000 0001 2169 605XSlovak Centre of Scientific and Technical Information, Bratislava, 811 04 Slovakia
| | - Tomas Szemes
- grid.7634.60000000109409708Comenius University Science Park, Bratislava, 841 04 Slovakia ,grid.7634.60000000109409708Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, 841 04 Slovakia ,grid.455020.6Geneton Ltd, Bratislava, 841 04 Slovakia
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Gupta K, Kaur G, Pathak T, Banerjee I. Systematic review and meta-analysis of human genetic variants contributing to COVID-19 susceptibility and severity. Gene 2022; 844:146790. [PMID: 35987511 PMCID: PMC9384365 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2022.146790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has spawned global health crisis of unprecedented magnitude, claiming millions of lives and pushing healthcare systems in many countries to the brink. Among several factors that contribute to an increased risk of COVID-19 and progression to exacerbated manifestations, host genetic landscape is increasingly being recognized as a critical determinant of susceptibility/resistance to infection and a prognosticator of clinical outcomes in infected individuals. Recently, several case-control association studies investigated the influence of human gene variants on COVID-19 susceptibility and severity to identify the culpable mutations. However, a comprehensive synthesis of the recent advances in COVID-19 host genetics research was lacking, and the inconsistent findings of the association studies required reliable evaluation of the strength of association with greater statistical power. In this study, we embarked on a systematic search of all possible reports of genetic association with COVID-19 till April 07, 2022, and performed meta-analyses of all the genetic polymorphisms that were examined in at least three studies. After identifying a total of 84 studies that investigated the association of 130 polymorphisms in 61 genes, we performed meta-analyses of all the eligible studies. Seven genetic polymorphisms involving 15,550 cases and 444,007 controls were explored for association with COVID-19 susceptibility, of which, ACE1 I/D rs4646994/rs1799752, APOE rs429358, CCR5 rs333, and IFITM3 rs12252 showed increased risk of infection. Meta-analyses of 11 gene variants involving 6702 patients with severe COVID-19 and 8640 infected individuals with non-severe manifestations revealed statistically significant association of ACE2 rs2285666, ACE2 rs2106809, ACE2 rs2074192, AGTR1 rs5186, and TNFA rs1800629 with COVID-19 severity. Overall, our study presents a synthesis of evidence on all the genetic determinants implicated in COVID-19 to date, and provides evidence of correlation between the above polymorphisms with COVID-19 susceptibility and severity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Indranil Banerjee
- Cellular Virology Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali (IISER Mohali), Sector 81, S.A.S Nagar, Mohali 140306, India.
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Naming the Barriers between Anti-CCR5 Therapy, Breast Cancer and Its Microenvironment. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232214159. [PMID: 36430633 PMCID: PMC9694078 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232214159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Revised: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer represents the most common malignancy among women in the world. Although immuno-, chemo- and radiation therapy are widely recognized as the therapeutic trifecta, new strategies in the fight against breast cancer are continually explored. The local microenvironment around the tumor plays a great role in cancer progression and invasion, representing a promising therapeutic target. CCL5 is a potent chemokine with a physiological role of immune cell attraction and has gained particular attention in R&D for breast cancer treatment. Its receptor, CCR5, is a well-known co-factor for HIV entry through the cell membrane. Interestingly, biology research is unusually unified in describing CCL5 as a pro-oncogenic factor, especially in breast cancer. In silico, in vitro and in vivo studies blocking the CCL5/CCR5 axis show cancer cells become less invasive and less malignant, and the extracellular matrices produced are less oncogenic. At present, CCR5 blocking is a mainstay of HIV treatment, but despite its promising role in cancer treatment, CCR5 blocking in breast cancer remains unperformed. This review presents the role of the CCL5/CCR5 axis and its effector mechanisms, and names the most prominent hurdles for the clinical adoption of anti-CCR5 drugs in cancer.
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Tziastoudi M, Cholevas C, Stefanidis I, Theoharides TC. Genetics of COVID-19 and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: a systematic review. Ann Clin Transl Neurol 2022; 9:1838-1857. [PMID: 36204816 PMCID: PMC9639636 DOI: 10.1002/acn3.51631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
COVID‐19 and ME/CFS present with some similar symptoms, especially physical and mental fatigue. In order to understand the basis of these similarities and the possibility of underlying common genetic components, we performed a systematic review of all published genetic association and cohort studies regarding COVID‐19 and ME/CFS and extracted the genes along with the genetic variants investigated. We then performed gene ontology and pathway analysis of those genes that gave significant results in the individual studies to yield functional annotations of the studied genes using protein analysis through evolutionary relationships (PANTHER) VERSION 17.0 software. Finally, we identified the common genetic components of these two conditions. Seventy‐one studies for COVID‐19 and 26 studies for ME/CFS were included in the systematic review in which the expression of 97 genes for COVID‐19 and 429 genes for ME/CFS were significantly affected. We found that ACE, HLA‐A, HLA‐C, HLA‐DQA1, HLA‐DRB1, and TYK2 are the common genes that gave significant results. The findings of the pathway analysis highlight the contribution of inflammation mediated by chemokine and cytokine signaling pathways, and the T cell activation and Toll receptor signaling pathways. Protein class analysis revealed the contribution of defense/immunity proteins, as well as protein‐modifying enzymes. Our results suggest that the pathogenesis of both syndromes could involve some immune dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Tziastoudi
- Department of Nephrology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece
| | - Christos Cholevas
- First Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University, AHEPA Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Ioannis Stefanidis
- Department of Nephrology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece
| | - Theoharis C Theoharides
- Institute of Neuro-Immune Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Clearwater, FL, USA.,Laboratory of Molecular Immunopharmacology and Drug Discovery, Department of Immunology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Departments of Internal Medicine and Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine and Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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D’Alterio G, Lasorsa VA, Bonfiglio F, Cantalupo S, Rosato BE, Andolfo I, Russo R, Esposito U, Frisso G, Abete P, Cassese GM, Servillo G, Gentile I, Piscopo C, Della Monica M, Fiorentino G, Boccia A, Paolella G, Ferrucci V, de Antonellis P, Siciliano R, Asadzadeh F, Cerino P, Buonerba C, Pierri B, Zollo M, Iolascon A, Capasso M. Germline rare variants of lectin pathway genes predispose to asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in elderly individuals. Genet Med 2022; 24:1653-1663. [PMID: 35511137 PMCID: PMC9068606 DOI: 10.1016/j.gim.2022.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Revised: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Emerging evidence suggest that infection-dependent hyperactivation of complement system (CS) may worsen COVID-19 outcome. We investigated the role of predicted high impact rare variants - referred as qualifying variants (QVs) - of CS genes in predisposing asymptomatic COVID-19 in elderly individuals, known to be more susceptible to severe disease. METHODS Exploiting exome sequencing data and 56 CS genes, we performed a gene-based collapsing test between 164 asymptomatic subjects (aged ≥60 years) and 56,885 European individuals from the Genome Aggregation Database. We replicated this test comparing the same asymptomatic individuals with 147 hospitalized patients with COVID-19. RESULTS We found an enrichment of QVs in 3 genes (MASP1, COLEC11, and COLEC10), which belong to the lectin pathway, in the asymptomatic cohort. Analyses of complement activity in serum showed decreased activity of lectin pathway in asymptomatic individuals with QVs. Finally, we found allelic variants associated with asymptomatic COVID-19 phenotype and with a decreased expression of MASP1, COLEC11, and COLEC10 in lung tissue. CONCLUSION This study suggests that genetic rare variants can protect from severe COVID-19 by mitigating the activity of lectin pathway and prothrombin. The genetic data obtained through ES of 786 asymptomatic and 147 hospitalized individuals are publicly available at http://espocovid.ceinge.unina.it/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe D’Alterio
- European School of Molecular Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy,CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate, Naples, Italy
| | | | - Ferdinando Bonfiglio
- Department of Chemical, Materials and Production Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Sueva Cantalupo
- CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate, Naples, Italy,Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Barbara Eleni Rosato
- CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate, Naples, Italy,Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Immacolata Andolfo
- CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate, Naples, Italy,Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Roberta Russo
- CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate, Naples, Italy,Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | | | - Giulia Frisso
- CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate, Naples, Italy,Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Pasquale Abete
- COVID Hospital, P.O.S. Anna e SS. Madonna della Neve di Boscotrecase, Ospedali Riuniti Area Vesuviana, Naples, Italy
| | - Gian Marco Cassese
- COVID Hospital, P.O.S. Anna e SS. Madonna della Neve di Boscotrecase, Ospedali Riuniti Area Vesuviana, Naples, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Servillo
- Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive Sciences and Dentistry, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Ivan Gentile
- Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Carmelo Piscopo
- Medical and Laboratory Genetics Unit, A.O.R.N. Antonio Cardarelli, Naples, Italy
| | - Matteo Della Monica
- Medical and Laboratory Genetics Unit, A.O.R.N. Antonio Cardarelli, Naples, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Fiorentino
- Cotugno Hospital, Azienda Ospedaliera di Rilievo Nazionale Ospedali dei Colli, Naples, Italy
| | | | - Giovanni Paolella
- CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate, Naples, Italy,Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Veronica Ferrucci
- CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate, Naples, Italy,Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Pasqualino de Antonellis
- CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate, Naples, Italy,Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Roberto Siciliano
- CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate, Naples, Italy,Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Fathem Asadzadeh
- European School of Molecular Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy,CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate, Naples, Italy
| | - Pellegrino Cerino
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Napoli, Italy
| | - Carlo Buonerba
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry “Scuola Medica Salernitana,” University of Salerno, Baronissi, Italy
| | - Biancamaria Pierri
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Napoli, Italy,Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry “Scuola Medica Salernitana,” University of Salerno, Baronissi, Italy
| | - Massimo Zollo
- CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate, Naples, Italy,Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Achille Iolascon
- CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate, Naples, Italy,Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Mario Capasso
- CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate, Naples, Italy; Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
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10
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Dieter C, Brondani LDA, Leitão CB, Gerchman F, Lemos NE, Crispim D. Genetic polymorphisms associated with susceptibility to COVID-19 disease and severity: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0270627. [PMID: 35793369 PMCID: PMC9258831 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Although advanced age and presence of comorbidities significantly impact the variation observed in the clinical symptoms of COVID-19, it has been suggested that genetic variants may also be involved in the disease. Thus, the aim of this study was to perform a systematic review with meta-analysis of the literature to identify genetic polymorphisms that are likely to contribute to COVID-19 pathogenesis. Pubmed, Embase and GWAS Catalog repositories were systematically searched to retrieve articles that investigated associations between polymorphisms and COVID-19. For polymorphisms analyzed in 3 or more studies, pooled OR with 95% CI were calculated using random or fixed effect models in the Stata Software. Sixty-four eligible articles were included in this review. In total, 8 polymorphisms in 7 candidate genes and 74 alleles of the HLA loci were analyzed in 3 or more studies. The HLA-A*30 and CCR5 rs333Del alleles were associated with protection against COVID-19 infection, while the APOE rs429358C allele was associated with risk for this disease. Regarding COVID-19 severity, the HLA-A*33, ACE1 Ins, and TMPRSS2 rs12329760T alleles were associated with protection against severe forms, while the HLA-B*38, HLA-C*6, and ApoE rs429358C alleles were associated with risk for severe forms of COVID-19. In conclusion, polymorphisms in the ApoE, ACE1, TMPRSS2, CCR5, and HLA loci appear to be involved in the susceptibility to and/or severity of COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristine Dieter
- Endocrine and Metabolism Division, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Postgraduate Program in Medical Sciences: Endocrinology, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Letícia de Almeida Brondani
- Endocrine and Metabolism Division, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Postgraduate Program in Medical Sciences: Endocrinology, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Cristiane Bauermann Leitão
- Endocrine and Metabolism Division, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Postgraduate Program in Medical Sciences: Endocrinology, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Fernando Gerchman
- Endocrine and Metabolism Division, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Postgraduate Program in Medical Sciences: Endocrinology, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Natália Emerim Lemos
- Endocrine and Metabolism Division, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Postgraduate Program in Medical Sciences: Endocrinology, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Daisy Crispim
- Endocrine and Metabolism Division, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Postgraduate Program in Medical Sciences: Endocrinology, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- * E-mail:
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11
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Ishak A, Mehendale M, AlRawashdeh MM, Sestacovschi C, Sharath M, Pandav K, Marzban S. The association of COVID-19 severity and susceptibility and genetic risk factors: A systematic review of the literature. Gene 2022; 836:146674. [PMID: 35714803 PMCID: PMC9195407 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2022.146674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2022] [Revised: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Background COVID-19 is associated with several risk factors such as distinct ethnicities (genetic ancestry), races, sexes, age, pre-existing comorbidities, smoking, and genetics. The authors aim to evaluate the correlation between variability in the host genetics and the severity and susceptibility towards COVID-19 in this study. Methods Following the PRISMA guidelines, we retrieved all the relevant articles published until September 15, 2021, from two online databases: PubMed and Scopus. Findings High-risk HLA haplotypes, higher expression of ACE polymorphisms, and several genes of cellular proteases such as TMPRSS2, FURIN, TLL-1 increase the risk of susceptibility and severity of COVID-19. In addition, upregulation of several genes encoding for both innate and acquired immune systems proteins, mainly CCR5, IFNs, TLR, DPPs, and TNF, positively correlate with COVID-19 severity. However, reduced expression or polymorphisms in genes affecting TLR and IFNλ increase COVID-19 severity. Conclusion Higher expression, polymorphisms, mutations, and deletions of several genes are linked with the susceptibility, severity, and clinical outcomes of COVID-19. Early treatment and vaccination of individuals with genetic predisposition could help minimize the severity and mortality associated with COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela Ishak
- Department of Research & Academic Affairs, Larkin Community Hospital, South Miami, Florida, USA.
| | - Meghana Mehendale
- Department of Research & Academic Affairs, Larkin Community Hospital, South Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Mousa M AlRawashdeh
- Department of Research & Academic Affairs, Larkin Community Hospital, South Miami, Florida, USA; European University Cyprus - School of Medicine, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Cristina Sestacovschi
- Department of Research & Academic Affairs, Larkin Community Hospital, South Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Medha Sharath
- Department of Research & Academic Affairs, Larkin Community Hospital, South Miami, Florida, USA; Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Krunal Pandav
- Department of Research & Academic Affairs, Larkin Community Hospital, South Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Sima Marzban
- Department of Research & Academic Affairs, Larkin Community Hospital, South Miami, Florida, USA
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12
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Yang D, Chung T, Kim D. DeepLUCIA: predicting tissue-specific chromatin loops using Deep Learning-based Universal Chromatin Interaction Annotator. Bioinformatics 2022; 38:3501-3512. [PMID: 35640981 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btac373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Revised: 04/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION The importance of chromatin loops in gene regulation is broadly accepted. There are mainly two approaches to predict chromatin loops: transcription factor (TF) binding-dependent approach and genomic variation-based approach. However, neither of these approaches provides an adequate understanding of gene regulation in human tissues. To address this issue, we developed a deep learning-based chromatin loop prediction model called DeepLUCIA (Deep Learning-based Universal Chromatin Interaction Annotator). RESULTS Although DeepLUCIA does not use TF binding profile data which previous TF binding-dependent methods critically rely on, its prediction accuracies are comparable to those of the previous TF binding-dependent methods. More importantly, DeepLUCIA enables the tissue-specific chromatin loop predictions from tissue-specific epigenomes that cannot be handled by genomic variation-based approach. We demonstrated the utility of the DeepLUCIA by predicting several novel target genes of SNPs identified in genome-wide association studies targeting Brugada syndrome, COVID-19 severity, and age-related macular degeneration. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongchan Yang
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Taesu Chung
- Biotechnology & Healthcare Examination Division, KIPO, Daejeon, 35208, Republic of Korea
| | - Dongsup Kim
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
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13
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Gray PE, Bartlett AW, Tangye SG. Severe COVID-19 represents an undiagnosed primary immunodeficiency in a high proportion of infected individuals. Clin Transl Immunology 2022; 11:e1365. [PMID: 35444807 PMCID: PMC9013505 DOI: 10.1002/cti2.1365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Revised: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, a key challenge has been to define risk factors, other than age and pre-existing comorbidities, that predispose some people to severe disease, while many other SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals experience mild, if any, consequences. One explanation for intra-individual differences in susceptibility to severe COVID-19 may be that a growing percentage of otherwise healthy people have a pre-existing asymptomatic primary immunodeficiency (PID) that is unmasked by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Germline genetic defects have been identified in individuals with life-threatening COVID-19 that compromise local type I interferon (IFN)-mediated innate immune responses to SARS-CoV-2. Remarkably, these variants - which impact responses initiated through TLR3 and TLR7, as well as the response to type I IFN cytokines - may account for between 3% and 5% of severe COVID-19 in people under 70 years of age. Similarly, autoantibodies against type I IFN cytokines (IFN-α, IFN-ω) have been detected in patients' serum prior to infection with SARS-CoV-2 and were found to cause c. 20% of severe COVID-19 in the above 70s and 20% of total COVID-19 deaths. These autoantibodies, which are more common in the elderly, neutralise type I IFNs, thereby impeding innate antiviral immunity and phenocopying an inborn error of immunity. The discovery of PIDs underlying a significant percentage of severe COVID-19 may go some way to explain disease susceptibility, may allow for the application of targeted therapies such as plasma exchange, IFN-α or IFN-β, and may facilitate better management of social distancing, vaccination and early post-exposure prophylaxis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul E Gray
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases Sydney Children's Hospital Randwick NSW Australia.,School of Women's and Children's Health University of New South Wales Randwick NSW Australia
| | - Adam W Bartlett
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases Sydney Children's Hospital Randwick NSW Australia.,School of Women's and Children's Health University of New South Wales Randwick NSW Australia
| | - Stuart G Tangye
- Garvan Institute of Medical Research Darlinghurst NSW Australia.,St Vincent's Clinical School UNSW Sydney Randwick NSW Australia
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