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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Genet.
Sec. Genetics of Common and Rare Diseases
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fgene.2024.1385316

Integrating single-cell expression, eQTL, and Mendelian randomization to dissect monocyte roles in severe COVID-19 and gout flare

Provisionally accepted
Jiajia Li Jiajia Li 1Guixian Yang Guixian Yang 2Junnan Liu Junnan Liu 2Guofeng Li Guofeng Li 1Huiling Zhou Huiling Zhou 1Yuan He Yuan He 1Xinru Fei Xinru Fei 1Dongkai Zhao Dongkai Zhao 2*
  • 1 Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, Jilin Province, China
  • 2 Third Clinical Hospital, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Jilin, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    There are considerable similarities between the pathophysiology of gout flare and the dysregulated inflammatory response in severe COVID-19 infection.Monocytes are the key immune cells involved in the pathogenesis of both diseases.Therefore, it is critical to elucidate the molecular basis of the function of monocytes in gout and COVID-19 in order to develop more effective therapeutic approaches.The single-cell RNA sequencing(scRNA-seq), large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) data of gout and severe COVID-19 were comprehensively analyzed. Cellular heterogeneity and intercellular communication were identified using the scRNA-seq datasets, and the monocyte-specific differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between COVID-19, gout and normal subjects were screened. In addition, the correlation of the DEGs with severe COVID-19 and gout flare was analyzed through GWAS statistics and eQTL data.The scRNA-seq analysis exhibited that the proportion of classical monocytes was increased in both severe COVID-19 and gout patient groups compared to healthy controls. Differential expression analysis and MR analysis showed that NLRP3 was positively associated with the risk of severe COVID-19 and involved 11 SNPs, of which rs4925547 was not significantly co-localized. In contrast, IER3 was positively associated with the risk of gout and involved 9 SNPs, of which rs1264372 was significantly co-localized. Discussion: Monocytes have a complex role in gout flare and severe COVID-19, which underscores the potential mechanisms and clinical significance of the interaction between the two diseases.

    Keywords: COVID-19, Gout, Mendelian randomization, monocyte, single-cell sequencing

    Received: 12 Feb 2024; Accepted: 10 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Li, Yang, Liu, Li, Zhou, He, Fei and Zhao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Dongkai Zhao, Third Clinical Hospital, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Jilin, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.