Gene-Level Analyses of Novel Olfactory-Related Signal from Severe SARS-CoV-2 GWAS Reveal Association with Disease Mortality
We discovered a novel, independent, and potentially functional SNP <i>RTP5</i> rs7420371 G>A to be significantly associated with COVID-19 mortality. The A allele is significantly associated with elevated mRNA expression of <i>RTP5</i> in the brain, an important protein coding gene that modulates olfactory binding and taste perceptions in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Authors
- Xinan Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5236-1105)
- Francesca Giacona
- Xihong Lin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7067-7752)
- Yujia Lu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4140-4488)
- Lorelei Ann Mucci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2551-4927)
- Elizabeth Abe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6283-0562)
- Yuchen Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6231-4414)
- Qingyi Wei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3845-9445)
- Rounak Dey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6540-8280)
- Yu Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0115-9489)
- Jehan Alladina (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0136-6859)
- David C. Christiani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0301-0242)
- Li Su (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6453-199X)
- Emma White (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1473-6695)
Institutions
- Harvard University (US)
- Duke University (US)
- Massachusetts General Hospital (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- COVID
- Published
- 2025-12-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/covid5120206
- Primary Topic
- Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00