DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19.

ABSTRACT: Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge^1-5. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2,393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3,289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with t

SUBMITTER: Namkoong H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9492544 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature