GWAS-Identified Loci are Associated with Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Patients with Severe COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Comorbidities such as obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have emerged as critical risk factors exacerbating the severity and mortality of COVID-19. Meanwhile, numerous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with increased susceptibility to severe COVID-19. AIM: This study investigated whether SNPs previously identified by GWAS as risk factors for severe COVID-19 also correlate with common comorbidities-obesity and T2DM-in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19. METHODS: DNA samples from 199 hospitalized COVID-19 patients were genotyped using probe-based PCR for 10 GWAS SNPs previously implicated in severe COVID-19 outcomes (rs143334143 CCHCR1, rs111837807 CCHCR1, rs17078346 SLC6A20-LZTFL1, rs17713054 SLC6A20-LZTFL1, rs7949972 ELF5, rs61882275 ELF5, rs12585036 ATP11A, rs67579710 THBS3, THBS3-AS1, rs12610495 DPP9, rs9636867 IFNAR2). RESULTS: The analysis revealed significant associations between certain SNPs and the increased risk of obesity and T2DM in severe COVID-19 patients. Specifically, rs17713054 SLC6A20-LZTFL1 (risk allele A; odds ratio (OR) = 2.34, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.24-4.4, p = 0.007) and rs7949972 ELF5 SNP (risk allele T; OR = 1.79, 95% CI = 1.11-2.91, p = 0.015) were associated with increased risk of obesity. SNP rs9636867 IFNAR2 was associated with a higher risk of T2DM (risk allele G, OR = 8.28, 95% CI = 1.69-40.64, p = 0.027). Using the model-based multifactor dimensionality reduction (MB-MDR) approach, the six most significant gene-gene interaction patterns associated with obesity in severe COVID-19 patients were identified and included five polymorphic loci: rs7949972, rs17713054, rs61882275, rs12585036, and rs143334143, participating in two or more of the most significant G-G interactions (pperm < 0.05). In total, the best models of G-G interactions associated with T2DM in patients with severe COVID-19 included eight polymorphic loci, six of which, rs7949972, rs61882275, rs12585036, rs143334143, rs67579710, and rs12610495, were involved in two or more of the most significant G-G interactions. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides novel insights into the genetic associations between GWAS-identified SNPs and the risk of obesity and T2DM in patients with severe COVID-19.

GWAS-significant loci and severe COVID-19: analysis of associations, link with thromboinflammation syndrome, gene-gene, and gene-environmental interactions.

Objective: The aim of this study was to replicate associations of GWAS-significant loci with severe COVID-19 in the population of Central Russia, to investigate associations of the SNPs with thromboinflammation parameters, to analyze gene-gene and gene-environmental interactions. Materials and Methods: DNA samples from 798 unrelated Caucasian subjects from Central Russia (199 hospitalized COVID-19 patients and 599 controls with a mild or asymptomatic course of COVID-19) were genotyped using probe-based polymerase chain reaction for 10 GWAS-significant SNPs: rs143334143 CCHCR1, rs111837807 CCHCR1, rs17078346 SLC6A20-LLZTFL1, rs17713054 SLC6A20-LLZTFL1, rs7949972 ELF5, rs61882275 ELF5, rs12585036 ATP11A, rs67579710 THBS3, THBS3-AS1, rs12610495 DPP9, rs9636867 IFNAR2. Results: SNP rs17713054 SLC6A20-LZTFL1 was associated with increased risk of severe COVID-19 in the entire group (risk allele A, OR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.22-2.6, p = 0.003), obese individuals (OR = 2.31, 95% CI = 1.52-3.5, p = 0.0002, (p bonf = 0.0004)), patients with low fruit and vegetable intake (OR = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.15-2.58, p = 0.01, (p bonf = 0.02)), low physical activity (OR = 1.93, 95% CI = 1.26-2.94, p = 0.0035, (p bonf = 0.007)), and nonsmokers (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.11-2.46, p = 0.02). This SNP correlated with increased BMI (p = 0.006) and worsened thrombodynamic parameters (maximum optical density of the formed clot, D (p = 0.02), delayed appearance of spontaneous clots, Tsp (p = 0.02), clot size 30 min after coagulation activation, CS (p = 0.036)). SNP rs17078346 SLC6A20-LZTFL1 was linked with increased BMI (p = 0.01) and severe COVID-19 in obese individuals (risk allele C, OR = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.15-2.58, p = 0.01, (p bonf = 0.02)). SNP rs12610495 DPP9 was associated with increased BMI (p = 0.01), severe COVID-19 in obese patients (risk allele G, OR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.09-2.01, p = 0.01, (p bonf = 0.02)), and worsened thrombodynamic parameters (time to the start of clot growth, Tlag (p = 0.01)). For rs7949972 ELF5, a protective effect against severe COVID-19 was observed in non-obese patients (effect allele T, OR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.47-0.95, p = 0.02, (p bonf = 0.04)), improving thrombodynamic parameters (CS (p = 0.02), stationary spatial clot growth rates, Vst (p = 0.02)). Finally, rs12585036 ATP11A exhibited a protective effect against severe COVID-19 in males (protective allele A, OR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.32-0.83, p = 0.004). SNPs rs67579710 THBS3, THBS3-AS1, rs17713054 SLC6A20-LZTFL1, rs7949972 ELF5, rs9636867 IFNAR2-were involved in two or more of the most significant G×G interactions (p perm ≤ 0.01). The pairwise combination rs67579710 THBS3, THBS3-AS1 × rs17713054 SLC6A20-LZTFL1 was a priority in determining susceptibility to severe COVID-19 (it was included in four of the top five most significant SNP-SNP interaction models). Conclusion: Overall, this study represents a comprehensive molecular-genetic and bioinformatics analysis of the involvement of GWAS-significant loci in the molecular mechanisms of severe COVID-19, gene-gene and gene-environmental interactions, and provides evidence of their relationship with thromboinflammation parameters in patients hospitalized in intensive care units.

Difficult intubation in syndromic versus nonsyndromic forms of micrognathia in children.

BACKGROUND: We investigated how syndromic versus nonsyndromic forms of micrognathia impacted difficult intubation outcomes in children. Primary outcome was the first-attempt success rate of tracheal intubation, secondary outcomes were number of intubation attempts and complications. We hypothesized that syndromic micrognathia would be associated with lower first-attempt success rate. METHODS: In micrognathic patients enrolled in the Pediatric Difficult Intubation Registry (08/2012-03/2019) we retrospectively compared demographic and clinical characteristics between children with nonsyndromic and syndromic micrognathia using standardized mean differences (SMD) and assessed the association of the presence of syndrome with the primary and secondary outcomes using propensity score matching analysis with and without matching for airway assessment findings. RESULTS: Nonsyndromic patients (628) were less likely to have additional airway abnormalities. Syndromic patients (216) were less likely to have unanticipated difficult intubation (2% vs. 20%, SMD 0.59). First-attempt success rates of intubation were: 38% in the syndromic versus 34% in the nonsyndromic group (odds ratio [OR] 1.18; 95% confidence intervals [95% CI] 0.74, 1.89; p = .478), and 37% versus 37% (OR 0.99; 95% CI 0.66, 1.48; p = .959). Median number of intubation attempts were 2 (interquartile range [IQR]: 1, 3; range: 1, 8) versus 2 (IQR: 1, 3; range 1, 12) (median regression coefficient = 0; 95% CI: -0.7, 0.7; p = .999) and 2 (IQR: 1, 3; range: 1, 12) versus 2 (IQR: 1, 3; range 1, 8) (median regression coefficient = 0; 95% CI: -0.5, 0.5; p = .999). Complication rates were 14% versus 22% (OR 0.6; 95% CI 0.34, 1.04; p = .07) and 16% versus 21% (OR 0.71; 95% CI 0.43, 1.17; p = .185). CONCLUSIONS: Presence of syndrome was not associated with lower first-attempt success rate on intubation, number of intubation attempts, or complication rate among micrognathic patients difficult to intubate, despite more associated craniofacial abnormalities. Nonsyndromic patients were more likely to have unanticipated difficult intubations, first attempt with direct laryngoscopy.

Diversity of Colletotrichum Species Associated with Olive Anthracnose Worldwide.

Olive anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum species causes dramatic losses of fruit yield and oil quality worldwide. A total of 185 Colletotrichum isolates obtained from olives and other hosts showing anthracnose symptoms in Spain and other olive-growing countries over the world were characterized. Colony and conidial morphology, benomyl-sensitive, and casein-hydrolysis activity were recorded. Multilocus alignments of ITS, TUB2, ACT, CHS-1, HIS3, and/or GAPDH were conducted for their molecular identification. The pathogenicity of the most representative Colletotrichum species was tested to olive fruits and to other hosts, such as almonds, apples, oleander, sweet oranges, and strawberries. In general, the phenotypic characters recorded were not useful to identify all species, although they allowed the separation of some species or species complexes. ITS and TUB2 were enough to infer Colletotrichum species within C. acutatum and C. boninense complexes, whereas ITS, TUB2, ACT, CHS-1, HIS-3, and GADPH regions were necessary to discriminate within the C. gloesporioides complex. Twelve Colletotrichum species belonging to C. acutatum, C. boninense, and C. gloeosporioides complexes were identified, with C. godetiae being dominant in Spain, Italy, Greece, and Tunisia, C. nymphaeae in Portugal, and C. fioriniae in California. The highest diversity with eight Colletotrichum spp. was found in Australia. Significant differences in virulence to olives were observed between isolates depending on the Colletotrichum species and host origin. When other hosts were inoculated, most of the Colletotrichum isolates tested were pathogenic in all the hosts evaluated, except for C. siamense to apple and sweet orange fruits, and C. godetiae to oleander leaves.