Genetics of symptom remission in outpatients with COVID-19

• Main Authors: Marie-Pierre Dubé, Audrey Lemaçon, Amina Barhdadi, Louis-Philippe Lemieux Perreault, Essaïd Oussaïd, Géraldine Asselin, Sylvie Provost, Maxine Sun, Johanna Sandoval, Marc-André Legault, Ian Mongrain, Anick Dubois, Diane Valois, Emma Dedelis, Jennifer Lousky, Julie Choi, Elisabeth Goulet, Christiane Savard, Lea-Mei Chicoine, Mariève Cossette, Malorie Chabot-Blanchet, Marie-Claude Guertin, Simon de Denus, Nadia Bouabdallaoui, Richard Marchand, Zohar Bassevitch, Anna Nozza, Daniel Gaudet, Philippe L. L’Allier, Julie Hussin, Guy Boivin, David Busseuil, Jean-Claude Tardif
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group 2021-05-01
• Series: Scientific Reports
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-90365-6

Abstract We conducted a genome-wide association study of time to remission of COVID-19 symptoms in 1723 outpatients with at least one risk factor for disease severity from the COLCORONA clinical trial. We found a significant association at 5p13.3 (rs1173773; P = 4.94 × 10–8) near the natriuretic peptide receptor 3 gene (NPR3). By day 15 of the study, 44%, 54% and 59% of participants with 0, 1, or 2 copies of the effect allele respectively, had symptom remission. In 851 participants not treated with colchicine (placebo), there was a significant association at 9q33.1 (rs62575331; P = 2.95 × 10–8) in interaction with colchicine (P = 1.19 × 10–5) without impact on risk of hospitalisations, highlighting a possibly shared mechanistic pathway. By day 15 of the study, 46%, 62% and 64% of those with 0, 1, or 2 copies of the effect allele respectively, had symptom remission. The findings need to be replicated and could contribute to the biological understanding of COVID-19 symptom remission.