SWAlexander
Senior Member
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Introduction: Long COVID is a debilitating condition that lasts for more than three months post-infection by SARS–CoV–2. On average, one in ten individuals infected with SARS CoV- 2 develops Long COVID worldwide. A knowledge gap exists in our understanding of the mechanisms, genetic risk factors, and biomarkers that could be associated with Long COVID.
Methods: In this pilot study we used RNA-Seq to quantify the transcriptomes of peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from COVID-recovered individuals, seven with and seven without Long COVID symptoms (age- and sex-matched individuals), on average 6 months after infection.
Results: Seventy genes were identified as significantly up- or down-regulated in Long COVID samples, and the vast majority were downregulated. The most significantly up- or downregulated genes fell into two main categories, either associated with cell survival or with inflammation. This included genes such as ICOS (FDR p = 0.024) and S1PR1 (FDR p = 0.019) that were both up-regulated, indicating that a pro-inflammatory state is sustained in Long COVID PBMCs compared with COVID recovered PBMCs. Functional enrichment analysis identified that immune-related functions were expectedly predominant among the up- or down-regulated genes. The most frequently downregulated genes in significantly altered functional categories were two leukocyte immunoglobulin like receptors LILRB1 (FDR p = 0.005) and LILRB2 (FDR p = 0.027). PCA analysis demonstrated that LILRB1 and LILRB2 expression discriminated all of the Long COVID samples from COVID recovered samples.
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1450853/full
I'm not surprised, as some of the up- or down-regulated genes are also markers for existing genetic immunodeficiencies. If someone has undergone genetic testing, such as through 23andMe, there is a possibility to cross-reference their results with Long COVID Datasets.To find SNPs specifically associated with Long COVID: Use GWAS Catalog to search for published GWAS studies on Long COVID. Check RSIDs in those studies and cross-reference with your genes.
Methods: In this pilot study we used RNA-Seq to quantify the transcriptomes of peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from COVID-recovered individuals, seven with and seven without Long COVID symptoms (age- and sex-matched individuals), on average 6 months after infection.
Results: Seventy genes were identified as significantly up- or down-regulated in Long COVID samples, and the vast majority were downregulated. The most significantly up- or downregulated genes fell into two main categories, either associated with cell survival or with inflammation. This included genes such as ICOS (FDR p = 0.024) and S1PR1 (FDR p = 0.019) that were both up-regulated, indicating that a pro-inflammatory state is sustained in Long COVID PBMCs compared with COVID recovered PBMCs. Functional enrichment analysis identified that immune-related functions were expectedly predominant among the up- or down-regulated genes. The most frequently downregulated genes in significantly altered functional categories were two leukocyte immunoglobulin like receptors LILRB1 (FDR p = 0.005) and LILRB2 (FDR p = 0.027). PCA analysis demonstrated that LILRB1 and LILRB2 expression discriminated all of the Long COVID samples from COVID recovered samples.
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1450853/full
I'm not surprised, as some of the up- or down-regulated genes are also markers for existing genetic immunodeficiencies. If someone has undergone genetic testing, such as through 23andMe, there is a possibility to cross-reference their results with Long COVID Datasets.To find SNPs specifically associated with Long COVID: Use GWAS Catalog to search for published GWAS studies on Long COVID. Check RSIDs in those studies and cross-reference with your genes.