1. Bioinformatic analysis of SMN1–ACE/ACE2 interactions hinted at a potential protective effect of spinal muscular atrophy against COVID-19-induced lung injury.
- Author
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Li, Zheng, Li, Xingye, Shen, Jianxiong, Tan, Haining, Rong, Tianhua, Lin, Youxi, Feng, Erwei, Chen, Zhengguang, Jiao, Yang, Liu, Gang, Zhang, Lin, Chan, Matthew Tak Vai, and Wu, William Ka Kei
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SPINAL muscular atrophy , *COVID-19 , *COVID-19 pandemic , *LUNG injuries , *RESPIRATORY infections , *MOTOR neuron diseases , *LOCUS (Genetics) - Abstract
Patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) are susceptible to the respiratory infections and might be at a heightened risk of poor clinical outcomes upon contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the potential associations of SMA with the susceptibility to and prognostication of COVID-19 need to be clarified. We documented an SMA case who contracted COVID-19 but only developed mild-to-moderate clinical and radiological manifestations of pneumonia, which were relieved by a combined antiviral and supportive treatment. We then reviewed a cohort of patients with SMA who had been living in the Hubei province since November 2019, among which the only 1 out of 56 was diagnosed with COVID-19 (1.79%, 1/56). Bioinformatic analysis was carried out to delineate the potential genetic crosstalk between SMN1 (mutation of which leads to SMA) and COVID-19/lung injury-associated pathways. Protein-protein interaction analysis by STRING suggested that loss-of-function of SMN1 might modulate COVID-19 pathogenesis through CFTR, CXCL8, TNF and ACE. Expression quantitative trait loci analysis also revealed a link between SMN1 and ACE2, despite low-confidence protein-protein interactions as suggested by STRING. This bioinformatic analysis could give hint on why SMA might not necessarily lead to poor outcomes in patients with COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
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