Associations Between Genetically Predicted Protein Levels and COVID-19 Severity

Jingjing Zhu; Chong Wu; Lang Wu

doi:10.1093/infdis/jiaa660

Associations Between Genetically Predicted Protein Levels and COVID-19 Severity

J Infect Dis. 2021 Jan 4;223(1):19-22. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiaa660.

Authors

Jingjing Zhu¹, Chong Wu², Lang Wu¹

Affiliations

¹ Cancer Epidemiology Division, Population Sciences in the Pacific Program, University of Hawaii Cancer Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.
² Department of Statistics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA.

Abstract

It is critical to identify potential causal targets for SARS-CoV-2, which may guide drug repurposing options. We assessed the associations between genetically predicted protein levels and COVID-19 severity. Leveraging data from the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative comparing 6492 hospitalized COVID-19 patients and 1 012 809 controls, we identified 18 proteins with genetically predicted levels to be associated with COVID-19 severity at a false discovery rate of <0.05, including 12 that showed an association even after Bonferroni correction. Of the 18 proteins, 6 showed positive associations and 12 showed inverse associations. In conclusion, we identified 18 candidate proteins for COVID-19 severity.

Keywords: COVID-19 severity; genetic instruments; proteins.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Blood Proteins / analysis*
COVID-19 / diagnosis*
COVID-19 / genetics*
Case-Control Studies
Genetic Association Studies*
Humans
Severity of Illness Index

Substances

Blood Proteins