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The major genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19 is inherited from Neanderthals

Author

Listed:
  • Hugo Zeberg

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
    Karolinska Institutet)

  • Svante Pääbo

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
    Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology)

Abstract

A recent genetic association study1 identified a gene cluster on chromosome 3 as a risk locus for respiratory failure after infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). A separate study (COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative)2 comprising 3,199 hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and control individuals showed that this cluster is the major genetic risk factor for severe symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection and hospitalization. Here we show that the risk is conferred by a genomic segment of around 50 kilobases in size that is inherited from Neanderthals and is carried by around 50% of people in south Asia and around 16% of people in Europe.

Suggested Citation

  • Hugo Zeberg & Svante Pääbo, 2020. "The major genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19 is inherited from Neanderthals," Nature, Nature, vol. 587(7835), pages 610-612, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:587:y:2020:i:7835:d:10.1038_s41586-020-2818-3
    DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2818-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Syed Abul Basher & Salim Rashid & Mohammad Riad Uddin, 2023. "Losing a Gold Mine?," Papers 2306.04946, arXiv.org.
    2. Victoria N. Parikh & Alexander G. Ioannidis & David Jimenez-Morales & John E. Gorzynski & Hannah N. Jong & Xiran Liu & Jonasel Roque & Victoria P. Cepeda-Espinoza & Kazutoyo Osoegawa & Chris Hughes & , 2022. "Deconvoluting complex correlates of COVID-19 severity with a multi-omic pandemic tracking strategy," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    3. Bellanca, Nicolo', 2021. "Strategie di governo e strutture egemoniche in tempo di pandemia [Governance strategies and hegemonic structures in times of pandemic]," MPRA Paper 111234, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Takahiro Miyao, 2024. "Geographical Disparities in COVID Mortality: Regression Findings," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(1), pages 87-98.

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