TY - JOUR
AU - Pérez-Jurado, Luis A.
AU - Cáceres, Alejandro
AU - Balagué-Dobón, Laura
AU - Esko, Tonu
AU - López de Heredia, Miguel
AU - Quintela, Inés
AU - Cruz, Raquel
AU - Lapunzina, Pablo
AU - Carracedo, Ángel
AU - González, Juan R.
AU - SCOURGE Cohort Group
PY - 2024
DA - February
TI - Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2
JO - Communications Biology
VL - 7
DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-05805-6
AB - The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people.
PB - Springer Nature
UR - https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/publications/c133fa63-91d6-4341-9732-9a8233f81bfe
KW - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
KW - Older people
ER