Browsing by Author "Hanifa, Mohamed Samer"

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    Genetic determinants of severe COVID 19 in young Asian and Middle Eastern patients: a case series
    (2023) Badla, Beshr Abdulaziz; Hanifa, Mohamed Samer; Al Suwaidi, Hanan; Nowotny, Norbert; Popatia, Rizwana; Alsheikh-Ali, Alawi; Loney, Tom; Tayoun, Ahmad Abou
    Abstract: Studies of genetic factors associated with severe COVID-19 in young adults have been limited in non-Caucasian populations. Here, we clinically characterize a case series of patients with COVID19, who were otherwise healthy, young adults (N= 55; mean age 34.1 ±SD 5.0 years) from 16 Asian, Middle Eastern, and North African countries. Using whole exome sequencing, we identify rare, likely deleterious variants afecting 16 immune-related genes in 17 out of 55 patients (31%), including 7 patients (41% of all carriers or 12.7% of all patients) who harbored multiple such variants mainly in interferon and toll-like receptor genes. Protein network analysis as well as transcriptomic analysis of nasopharyngeal swabs from an independent COVID-19 cohort (N= 50; 42% Asians and 22% Arabs) revealed that most of the altered genes, as identifed by whole exome sequencing, and the associated molecular pathways were signifcantly altered in COVID-19 patients. Genetic variants tended to be associated with mortality, intensive care admission, and ventilation support. Our clinical cases series, genomic and transcriptomic fndings suggest a possible role for interferon pathway genes in severe COVID-19 and highlight the importance of extending genetic studies to diverse populations to better understand the human genetics of disease.