A Genome-Wide Association Study in the Chilean admixed population reveals four new loci for COVID-19 severity and susceptibility
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: ABSTRACT Background More than five years after the COVID-19 outbreak, the infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus should still be considered as a global threat with highly heterogeneous clinical outcomes from asymptomatic to fatal depending on existing genetic and phenotypic inter-individual and inter-population variability. Our objective is to identify risk loci associated with COVID-19 in an admixed Latin American population. Methods We performed a genome-wide association study in the framework of the Chilean C19-GenoNet team, analyzing a cohort of 3,417 individuals recruited from the northernmost to the southernmost regions of the country, who presented variations in the severity of their COVID-19 clinical manifestations. Results Our investigation replicated the extensively reported association of several variants at the 3p21.31 locus with COVID-19 severity and found a suggestive association for a variant within the FOXP4 gene at 6p21.1 with COVID-19 hospitalization. Both associations appear to be shared with other populations. Importantly, our study identified three previously unreported loci associated with COVID-19 severity or hospitalization at 7q21.11, 16p13.12 and 6p25.3, and one additional locus at 4p13 associated with SARS-CoV-2 positivity, a proxy for infection susceptibility. Conclusions these new risk loci may represent population-specific effects in Chilean and, potentially, other Latin American admixed groups. Our study highlights the importance of expanding efforts to study underrepresented and genetically different populations, which may provide new clues on the genetic basis of human diseases and may help to anticipate global responses to emerging viral infections and future pandemics.
Source: medRxiv
Authors: Yolanda Espinosa-Parrilla, Macarena Fuentes-Guajardo, Laura Carvajal-Silva, Kevin Aguilar-Valdés, Iskra A. Signore, Tamara V. Arévalo, Daniela Zapata-Contreras, Gerardo Donoso, Paula Zuñiga-Pacheco, Héctor Valenzuela-Jorquera, Stefania A. Rosso Villanelo, Eduardo A. Tobar-Calfucoy, Cristian E. Yáñez, Francisca Carvajal, Juan M. Saez Hidalgo, Sergio Sanhueza, Romina A. Quiroga, Matías F. Martínez, Leslie C. Cerpa, Nelson M. Varela, Claudio L. Cappelli, Claudia P. Campillay-Véliz, Braulio Valdebenito-Maturana, Jonathan García-Araya, Rodolfo A. Santander, Jenssy Opazo, Rocío Retamales-Ortega, Pamela Bocchieri, Teresa A. Alarcón, Anita Plaza, Mauricio Moraga, Christian A. Muñoz, Cesar A. Echeverria, Cristina Dorador, Virginia A. Monardes-Ramírez, Carolina A. Selman, Estefanía Nova-Lamperti, Carola Otth, Benjamin M. Neale, Andrea Ganna, Luis A. Quiñones, María A. Lavanderos, Andrea X. Silva, Alicia Colombo, Ricardo A. Verdugo
Institutions: Universidad de Magallanes, King's College London, University of Chile, University of Atacama, Hospital Clínico de la Universidad de Chile, Austral University of Chile, University of Concepción, Universidad de Antofagasta, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Hospital de Urgencia Asistencia Pública, Fundación Arturo López Pérez, Hospital del Salvador, Broad Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, University of Helsinki, Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, HiLIFE – Elämäntieteiden Instituutti, University of Bío-Bío
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: BIOMARCADORES GENETICOS CLINICOS Y BIOQUIMICOS COMO PREDICTORES DE MAL PRONOSTICO EN PACIENTES DIAGNOSTICADOS CON COVID19. CREACION DE UN SCORE DE PRIORIZACION DE LA ATENCION., G1292718459, EL EFECTO COLATERAL DE LA DEFENSA FRENTE AL COVID-19 ANALISIS DE LA RESPUESTA INFLAMATORIA Y SU ASOCIACION CON UN POTENCIAL DANO PULMONAR EN PACIENTES RECUPERADOS QUE CURSARON COVID-19 SEVERO MODERADO Y ASINTOMATICO., CIRCULAR RNAS AS PLAYERS IN GASTRIC CANCER BY ACTING AS MICRORNA SPONGES NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE INVOLVEMENT OF NON-CODING RNAS IN THE PROGRESSION OF CANCER, G449516348, G471436268, ESTUDIO DE LA VARIACION GENETICA A NIVEL DE GENOMA COMPLETO PARA LA SUSCEPTIBILIDAD Y LA GRAVEDAD DE COVID-19 EN LA POBLACION CHILENA, ASSESSMENT OF THE ROLE OF GENETIC VARIATION IN MICRORNAS ON THE SUSCEPTIBILITY AND PHYSIOPATHOLOGY OF GASTRIC CANCER, G7075349105, G75562430, STUDY OF THE METABOLIC REPROGRAMING OF EFFECTOR CD4+T CELLS BY MITOCHONDRIA TRANSFER IN ORAL CANCER AND ITS EFFECT UPON T HELPER AND T-DEPENDENT B CELL RESPONSES., COVID-19 GENOMICS NETWORK (C19-GENONET)
OpenAlex ID: W7221753698