IFNL4 genetic variant can predispose to COVID-19

  1. Jose Maria R. Saponi-Cortes
  2. Maria Dolores Rivas
  3. Fernando Calle-Alonso
  4. Juan F. Sanchez
  5. Alberto Costo
  6. Carlos Martin
  7. Jose Zamorano

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Abstract

Interferon lambda 4 (IFNλ4) has shown antiviral activity against RNA viruses, including some coronaviruses. Besides, genetic variants of IFNL4 can be predictive of the clearance of RNA viruses. However, little is known about the effect of these genetic variants on SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this study, we investigated whether there was a relationship of the rs12979860 polymorphism of IFNL4 with COVID-19. We found that the T allele of rs12979860 was overexpressed in COVID-19 patients with regard to the general population without this disease (36.16% vs. 26.40%, p = 6.4 × 10 –4 ; OR 0.633 C vs T; 95% CI 0.487, 0.824), suggesting that this allele could be a risk factor for COVID-19. Accordingly, the CC genotype was significantly lower in COVID-19 patients compared to controls (37.85% vs. 55.51%, p = 8 × 10 –5 ; OR 0.488; 95% CI 0.342, 0.698). These results were not affected by sex, age, and disease severity in patients with COVID-19. Our findings suggest that, like other infectious diseases caused by RNA viruses, genetic variants of IFNL4 can predispose to COVID-19. Confirmation of our results may contribute to better understanding the mechanisms of this disease.

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  1. Version published to 10.1038/s41598-021-00747-z
  2. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2021.03.01.21252696: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board Statementnot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    No key resources detected.

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a protocol registration statement.

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  3. Version published to 10.1101/2021.03.01.21252696 on medRxiv