AUTHOR=Guo Hongping , Li Tong , Wen Haiyang 

TITLE=Identifying shared genetic loci between coronavirus disease 2019 and cardiovascular diseases based on cross-trait meta-analysis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.993933

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.993933

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>People with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have different mortality or severity, and this clinical outcome is thought to be mainly attributed to comorbid cardiovascular diseases. However, genetic loci jointly influencing COVID-19 and cardiovascular disorders remain largely unknown. To identify shared genetic loci between COVID-19 and cardiac traits, we conducted a genome-wide cross-trait meta-analysis. Firstly, from eight cardiovascular disorders, we found positive genetic correlations between COVID-19 and coronary artery disease (CAD, <italic>R</italic><sub><italic>g</italic></sub> = 0.4075, <italic>P</italic> = 0.0031), type 2 diabetes (T2D, <italic>R</italic><sub><italic>g</italic></sub> = 0.2320, <italic>P</italic> = 0.0043), obesity (OBE, <italic>R</italic><sub><italic>g</italic></sub> = 0.3451, <italic>P</italic> = 0.0061), as well as hypertension (HTN, <italic>R</italic><sub><italic>g</italic></sub> = 0.233, <italic>P</italic> = 0.0026). Secondly, we detected 10 shared genetic loci between COVID-19 and CAD, 3 loci between COVID-19 and T2D, 5 loci between COVID-19 and OBE, and 21 loci between COVID-19 and HTN, respectively. These shared genetic loci were enriched in signaling pathways and secretion pathways. In addition, Mendelian randomization analysis revealed significant causal effect of COVID-19 on CAD, OBE and HTN. Our results have revealed the genetic architecture shared by COVID-19 and CVD, and will help to shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying the associations between COVID-19 and cardiac traits.</p>