Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused millions of deaths worldwide. Early risk assessment of COVID-19 cases can help direct early treatment measures that have been shown to improve the prognosis of severe cases. Currently, circulating miRNAs have not been evaluated as canonical COVID-19 biomarkers, and identifying biomarkers that have a causal relationship with COVID-19 is imperative. To bridge these gaps, we aim to examine the causal effects of miRNAs on COVID-19 severity in this study using two-sample Mendelian randomization approaches. Multiple studies with available GWAS summary statistics data were retrieved. Using circulating miRNA expression data as exposure, and severe COVID-19 cases as outcomes, we identified ten unique miRNAs that showed causality across three phenotype groups of COVID-19. Using expression data from an independent study, we validated and identified two high-confidence miRNAs, namely, hsa-miR-30a-3p and hsa-miR-139-5p, which have putative causal effects on developing cases of severe COVID-19. Using existing literature and publicly available databases, the potential causative roles of these miRNAs were investigated. This study provides a novel way of utilizing miRNA eQTL data to help us identify potential miRNA biomarkers to make better and early diagnoses and risk assessments of severe COVID-19 cases.
Highlights
Published: 11 December 2021COVID-19, a disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has grown into a worldwide pandemic that has infected more than 200 million people and caused more than 4.4 million deaths since December 2019
Using summary statistics from genomewide association studies (GWAS), we identified multiple putative causal miRNAs that can contribute to the severity of COVID-19
By analyzing three phenotype phenotype groups with different COVID-19 severities, we identified ten mature miRNAs causally groups with different COVID-19 severities, we identified ten mature miRNAs causally associated with COVID-19 severity and hospitalization
Summary
Published: 11 December 2021COVID-19, a disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has grown into a worldwide pandemic that has infected more than 200 million people and caused more than 4.4 million deaths since December 2019. Most infected cases of COVID-19 are asymptomatic or show mild symptoms, such as fever, cough, shortness of breath and muscle ache [1]. A small subset of the cases may develop more severe and critical disease courses, with dyspnea and hypoxemia as the most common symptoms [2,3]. Evidence has shown that early diagnosis and antiviral treatment of such cases can alleviate severe symptoms and improve prognosis [4,5]. The most common and accessible biomarkers for COVID-19 are from blood samples, such as hemoglobin and lymphocyte counts [7]. Biomarkers based on these signatures, such as a high neutrophil-tolymphocyte ratio, can be suggestive of disease severity. Many protein-based biomarkers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and cytokines targeting inflammatory factors, Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
