COVID-19: impact on Public Health and hypothesis-driven investigations on genetic susceptibility and severity

Abstract

COVID-19 is a new complex multisystem disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In slightly over 2 years, it infected nearly 500 million and killed 6 million human beings worldwide, causing an unprecedented coronavirus pandemic. Currently, the international scientific community is engaged in elucidating the molecular mechanisms of the pathophysiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection as a basis of scientific developments for the future control of COVID-19. Global exome and genome analysis efforts work to define the human genetics of protective immunity to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here, we review the current knowledge regarding the SARS-CoV-2 infection, the implications of COVID-19 to Public Health and discuss genotype to phenotype association approaches that could be exploited through the selection of candidate genes to identify the genetic determinants of severe COVID-19.

Age-dependent effect of the IFIH1/MDA5 gene variants on the risk of critical COVID-19

“…Critical patients require life support in the ICU and are at high risk of death, with several well recognized life-threatening risk factors such as advanced age, male sex, and pre-existing cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, diabetes, dyslipaemia) (Portuondo-Jimenez et al 2022 ). In addition to these, the genetic background of each individual would contribute to the susceptibility to develop a severe manifestation of COVID-19 (Ellinghaus et al 2020 ; COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative 2021 ; Kousathanas et al 2022 ; Coto et al 2021 ; Nakanishi et al 2021 ; David et al 2022 ).…”

Homozygous-Recessive Characteristics as a Biomarker of Predisposition for COVID-19

“…To identify host genetic factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), the whole-exome sequencing, and the candidate gene association studies have been performed by several consortia (COVID-19 Host Genetic Initiative; Velavan et al, 2021 ). These are population-based approaches in genotype to phenotype association ( David et al, 2022 ). The GWAS approach is based on a straightforward comparison of about 700,000 genomic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) frequencies in cases/controls ( Zguro et al, 2022 ).…”

Father–Son COVID‐19‐associated mucormycosis: Important role of genetic susceptibility in combination with environmental factors

“…There is no evidence that viral mutations in SARS-CoV-2 could explain the severe clinical phenotype variation nor the observed differences in the geographic distribution of COVID-19. 8 In addition to age, sex, and immune system, host genetics can affect disease outcome as a major contributor to the differences observed in the host-pathogen relationship. 9 The pooled prevalence of CAM increased 50-fold after the COVID-19 period.…”