Epigenome-wide association study of COVID-19 severity with respiratory failure

Background: Patients infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), exhibit a wide spectrum of disease behaviour. Since DNA methylation has been implicated in the regulation of viral infections and the immune s...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Castro de Moura, Manuel, Davalos, Veronica, Planas-Serra, Laura, Álvarez-Errico, Damiana, Arribas, Carles, Ruiz, Montserrat, Aguilera-Albesa, Sergio, Troya, Jesús, Valencia-Ramos, Juan, Vélez-Santamaría, Valentina, Rodríguez-Palmero, Agustí, Villar-García, Judit, Horcajada, Juan Pablo, Albu, Sergiu, Casasnovas, Carlos, Rull, Anna, Reverté, Laia, Dietl, Beatriz, Dalmau, David, Arranz, Maria J., Llucià-Carol, Laia, Planas, Anna M., Pérez-Tur, Jordi, Fernández-Cadenas, Israel, Villares, Paula, Tenorio, Jair, Colobran, Roger, Martin-Nalda, Andrea, Soler-Palacín, Pere, Vidal, Francesc, Pujol, Aurora, Esteller, Manel
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/239354
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/239354
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Coronavirus
SARS-CoV-2
COVID-19
Epigenetics
DNA methylation
Descripción
Sumario:Background: Patients infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), exhibit a wide spectrum of disease behaviour. Since DNA methylation has been implicated in the regulation of viral infections and the immune system, we performed an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) to identify candidate loci regulated by this epigenetic mark that could be involved in the onset of COVID-19 in patients without comorbidities. Methods: Peripheral blood samples were obtained from 407 confirmed COVID-19 patients 61 years of age and without comorbidities, 194 (47.7%) of whom had mild symptomatology that did not involve hospitalization and 213 (52.3%) had a severe clinical course that required respiratory support. The set of cases was divided into discovery (n = 207) and validation (n = 200) cohorts, balanced for age and sex of individuals. We analysed the DNA methylation status of 850,000 CpG sites in these patients. Findings: The DNA methylation status of 44 CpG sites was associated with the clinical severity of COVID-19. Of these loci, 23 (52.3%) were located in 20 annotated coding genes. These genes, such as the inflammasome component Absent in Melanoma 2 (AIM2) and the Major Histocompatibility Complex, class I C (HLA-C) candidates, were mainly involved in the response of interferon to viral infection. We used the EWAS-identified sites to establish a DNA methylation signature (EPICOVID) that is associated with the severity of the disease. Interpretation: We identified DNA methylation sites as epigenetic susceptibility loci for respiratory failure in COVID-19 patients. These candidate biomarkers, combined with other clinical, cellular and genetic factors, could be useful in the clinical stratification and management of patients infected with the SARS-CoV-2.

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