Why Does COVID-19 Affect Different People Differently?

Some people do better after COVID-19, and some people don’t. Why does COVID-19 affect different people differently?

A team of NYU Abu Dhabi researchers, led by Associate Professor of Biology Youssef Idaghdour and working in collaboration with clinicians from several Abu Dhabi hospitals, set out to find the answers.

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‘Have you ever wondered why some people recover quickly from COVID-19 and others don’t? Researchers may have found the answer. #COVID19’

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Researchers investigated the relationship between microRNAs, a class of small RNA molecules that regulate genes, and COVID-19 severity in 259 unvaccinated COVID-19 patients living in Abu Dhabi ().

MicroRNA Changes Could Explain How COVID-19 Affects Different People

The researchers discovered microRNAs that are linked to a reduced immune response and ICU hospitalization.

During this process, they created the first genomic picture of the architecture of blood microRNAs in unvaccinated COVID-19 patients from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia regions whose populations are consistently underrepresented in genomics research.

The researchers identified changes in microRNAs at the early stages of infection that are associated with specific blood traits and immune cell death, allowing the virus to evade the immune system and proliferate.

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Given the diversity of the sample, there is a promise that these findings can be applied to approximately thirty percent of the world’s population who reside in the MENA region and South Asia.

In the study titled Systems genetics identifies miRNA‑mediated regulation of host response in COVID‑19 published in the journal Human Genomics¸ the research team presents the results of the analysis of multiple omics datasets—genotypes, miRNA, and mRNA expression of patients at the time of hospital admission, combined with phenotypes from electronic health records.

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The researchers analyzed 62 clinical variables and expression levels of 632 miRNAs measured at hospital admission, as well as identified 97 miRNAs associated with eight blood phenotypes significantly associated with ICU admission.

“These findings improve our understanding of why some patients withstand COVID-19 better than others,” said Idaghdour. “This study demonstrates that microRNAs are promising biomarkers for disease severity, more broadly, and targets for therapeutic interventions. The methods of this study can be applied to other populations to further our understanding of how gene regulation can serve as a core mechanism that impacts COVID-19 and, potentially, the severity of other infections.”

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Reference:

Systems genetics identifies miRNA-mediated regulation of host response in COVID-19 - (https://humgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40246-023-00494-4)

Source-Eurekalert