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Gjorgjieva T, Chaloemtoem A, Shahin T, Bayaraa O, Dieng MM, Alshaikh M, Abdalbaqi M, Del Monte J, Begum G, Leonor C, Manikandan V, Drou N, Arshad M, Arnoux M, Kumar N, Jabari A, Abdulle A, ElGhazali G, Ali R, Shaheen SY, Abdalla J, Piano F, Gunsalus KC, Daggag H, Al Nahdi H, Abuzeid H, Idaghdour Y. Systems genetics identifies miRNA-mediated regulation of host response in COVID-19. Hum Genomics 2023; 17:49. [PMID: 37303042 DOI: 10.1186/s40246-023-00494-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 vary greatly in their disease severity, ranging from asymptomatic infection to severe disease. The regulation of gene expression is an important mechanism in the host immune response and can modulate the outcome of the disease. miRNAs play important roles in post-transcriptional regulation with consequences on downstream molecular and cellular host immune response processes. The nature and magnitude of miRNA perturbations associated with blood phenotypes and intensive care unit (ICU) admission in COVID-19 are poorly understood. RESULTS We combined multi-omics profiling-genotyping, miRNA and RNA expression, measured at the time of hospital admission soon after the onset of COVID-19 symptoms-with phenotypes from electronic health records to understand how miRNA expression contributes to variation in disease severity in a diverse cohort of 259 unvaccinated patients in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. We analyzed 62 clinical variables and expression levels of 632 miRNAs measured at admission and identified 97 miRNAs associated with 8 blood phenotypes significantly associated with later ICU admission. Integrative miRNA-mRNA cross-correlation analysis identified multiple miRNA-mRNA-blood endophenotype associations and revealed the effect of miR-143-3p on neutrophil count mediated by the expression of its target gene BCL2. We report 168 significant cis-miRNA expression quantitative trait loci, 57 of which implicate miRNAs associated with either ICU admission or a blood endophenotype. CONCLUSIONS This systems genetics study has given rise to a genomic picture of the architecture of whole blood miRNAs in unvaccinated COVID-19 patients and pinpoints post-transcriptional regulation as a potential mechanism that impacts blood traits underlying COVID-19 severity. The results also highlight the impact of host genetic regulatory control of miRNA expression in early stages of COVID-19 disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Gjorgjieva
- Biology Program, Division of Science, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
- Public Health Research Center, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
| | - A Chaloemtoem
- Biology Program, Division of Science, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - T Shahin
- Biology Program, Division of Science, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - O Bayaraa
- Biology Program, Division of Science, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - M M Dieng
- Biology Program, Division of Science, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - M Alshaikh
- Public Health Research Center, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - M Abdalbaqi
- Public Health Research Center, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - J Del Monte
- Public Health Research Center, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - G Begum
- Public Health Research Center, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - C Leonor
- Biology Program, Division of Science, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - V Manikandan
- Biology Program, Division of Science, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - N Drou
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, NYU Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - M Arshad
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, NYU Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - M Arnoux
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, NYU Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - N Kumar
- Seha (Abu Dhabi Health Services Company), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - A Jabari
- Public Health Research Center, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - A Abdulle
- Public Health Research Center, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - G ElGhazali
- Sheikh Khalifa Medical City-Union 71 PureHealth, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
| | - R Ali
- Public Health Research Center, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - S Y Shaheen
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
| | - J Abdalla
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
| | - F Piano
- Biology Program, Division of Science, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Public Health Research Center, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, NYU Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - K C Gunsalus
- Biology Program, Division of Science, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Public Health Research Center, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, NYU Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - H Daggag
- Seha (Abu Dhabi Health Services Company), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - H Al Nahdi
- Seha (Abu Dhabi Health Services Company), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - H Abuzeid
- Seha (Abu Dhabi Health Services Company), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Y Idaghdour
- Biology Program, Division of Science, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
- Public Health Research Center, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, NYU Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
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