The association of rs17713054 with Neanderthal origin at 3p21.31 locus with the severity of COVID-19 in Iranian patients

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the diversity of clinical manifestations in patients has been a tremendous challenge. It seems that genetic variations, as one of the players, contribute to the variety of symptoms. Genome-wide association studies have demonstrated the influence of certain genomic regions on the disease prognosis. Particularly, a haplotype at 3p21.31 locus, inherited from Neanderthals, showed an association with COVID-19 severity. Despite several studies regarding this haplotype, some key variants are not sufficiently addressed. In the present study, we investigated the association of rs17713054 at 3p21.31 with COVID-19 severity. We analyzed the genotype of 251 Iranian COVID-19 patients (151 patients with asymptomatic to mild form as control and 100 patients with severe to critical symptoms without any comorbidities as case group) using the ARMS-PCR method. Results demonstrated that the A allele confers an almost twofold increased risk for COVID-19 severity ( P value = 0.008). The AA genotype also raises the risk by more than 11 times following the recessive model (P value = 0.013). In conclusion, the A allele in rs17713054 was a risk allele in Iranian patients and was independently associated with COVID-19 severity. More studies are beneficial to confirm these findings in other populations and to develop strategies for risk assessment, prevention, and personalized medicine.