Interferon-Induced Transmembrane Protein 3 Genetic Variant rs12252-C Associated With Disease Severity in Coronavirus Disease 2019
Yonghong Zhang, Ling Qin, Yan Zhao, Ping Zhang, Bin Xu, Kang Li, Lianchun Liang, Chi Zhang, Yanchao Dai, Yingmei Feng, Jianping Sun, Zhongjie Hu, Haiping Xiang, Julian C. Knight, Tao Dong, Ronghua Jin
Abstract
A major unanswered question in the current global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is why severe disease develops in a small minority of infected individuals. In the current article, we report that homozygosity for the C allele of rs12252 in the interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 (IFITM3) gene is associated with more severe disease in an age-dependent manner. This supports a role for IFITM3 in disease pathogenesis and the opportunity for early targeted intervention in at-risk individuals.
Topics & Concepts
DiseasePathogenesisOutbreakInterferonCoronavirusImmunologyAlleleTransmembrane proteinPandemicVirologyGeneMedicineBiologyCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)GeneticsInternal medicineInfectious disease (medical specialty)Receptorinterferon and immune responsesCOVID-19 Clinical Research StudiesSARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research