Host genetic factors determining COVID-19 susceptibility and severity
Thirumalaisamy P. Velavan,
Srinivas Reddy Pallerla,
Jule Rüter,
Yolanda Augustin,
Peter G. Kremsner,
Sanjeev Krishna,
Christian G. Meyer
Affiliations
Thirumalaisamy P. Velavan
Institute of Tropical Medicine, Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, Wilhelmstrasse 27, Tübingen 72074, Germany; Vietnamese-German Center for Medical Research, VG-CARE, Hanoi, Vietnam; Corresponding author at: Institute of Tropical Medicine, Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, Wilhelmstrasse 27, Tübingen 72074, Germany.
Srinivas Reddy Pallerla
Institute of Tropical Medicine, Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, Wilhelmstrasse 27, Tübingen 72074, Germany; Vietnamese-German Center for Medical Research, VG-CARE, Hanoi, Vietnam
Jule Rüter
Institute of Tropical Medicine, Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, Wilhelmstrasse 27, Tübingen 72074, Germany
Yolanda Augustin
Institute of Infection and Immunity, St George's University of London, United Kingdom
Peter G. Kremsner
Institute of Tropical Medicine, Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, Wilhelmstrasse 27, Tübingen 72074, Germany; Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL), Gabon
Sanjeev Krishna
Institute of Infection and Immunity, St George's University of London, United Kingdom; Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL), Gabon
Christian G. Meyer
Institute of Tropical Medicine, Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, Wilhelmstrasse 27, Tübingen 72074, Germany; Vietnamese-German Center for Medical Research, VG-CARE, Hanoi, Vietnam; Duy Tan University, Da Nang, Vietnam
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) poses an unprecedented challenge to humanity. SARS-CoV-2 infections range from asymptomatic to severe courses of COVID-19 with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), multiorgan involvement and death. Risk factors for disease severity include older age, male sex, increased BMI and pre-existing comorbidities. Ethnicity is also relevant to COVID-19 susceptibility and severity. Host genetic predisposition to COVID-19 is now increasingly recognized and whole genome and candidate gene association studies regarding COVID-19 susceptibility have been performed. Several common and rare variants in genes related to inflammation or immune responses have been identified. We summarize research on COVID-19 host genetics and compile genetic variants associated with susceptibility to COVID-19 and disease severity. We discuss candidate genes that should be investigated further to understand such associations and provide insights relevant to pathogenesis, risk classification, therapy response, precision medicine, and drug repurposing.
