Genetic patterns related to von Willebrand factor: implications on the need for mechanical ventilation, severity, and death in COVID-19

Background Elevated levels of Von Willebrand Factor (VWF) have been associated to an increased need of mechanical ventilation and higher mortality risk in COVID-19 patients, but the hypothesis of a shared genetic background has not been explored. Methods Common and low-frequency genetic variants belonging to the VWF , FVIII , and ADAMTS13 genes were tested for association with clinical variables related to severe COVID-19 disease in 9,371 European and 3,495 Latin-American patients. Gene–environment and gene–gene interactions were also explored. Results A variant in the VWF gene was associated to the need of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) in the Latin-American population. Gene–gene interaction models pointed to an interaction between ADAMTS13 and VWF genes. Conclusion Although we did not find significant associations among Europeans, we identified a low-frequency variant belonging to the VWF gene associated with the need of IMV in Latin-Americans.

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Journal
Frontiers in Medicine
Published
2026-01-09
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2025.1690764
Primary Topic
Complement system in diseases
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article
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0.00

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article

Genetic patterns related to von Willebrand factor: implications on the need for mechanical ventilation, severity, and death in COVID-19

Rebeca Hernandez-Vaquero, Jose Javier Suárez‐Rama, André Ducati Luchessi, Celia Perales et al.
Frontiers in Medicine
Complement system in diseases
article

Genetic patterns related to von Willebrand factor: implications on the need for mechanical ventilation, severity, and death in COVID-19

Rebeca Hernandez-Vaquero, Jose Javier Suárez‐Rama, André Ducati Luchessi, Celia Perales, María Rubio Olivera, Sonia Rubiano Segovia, Antonio Rodríguez-Nicolás, Laura Uixera Marzal, María Lozano-Espinosa, Inés Quintela, Inês Margarida Fonseca Quintela, Rhonda E. Schnur, Iciar Martinez-Lopez, Cristina Galoppo, Ramón Brugada, Luisa Fernanda Córdoba Cuesta, Stacey A. Santi, Valentina Vélez-Santamaría, Alexandra Pérez-Serra, Cesar Ochoa Perez, Antonio Moreno-Docón, Felipe Alvárez-Navia, Lilian Torres-Tobar, José Manuel Soria, Miguel Ángel López‐Ruz, AUGUSTO ROJAS-MARTINEZ, Manuel Pacheco, Juliana F. Mazzeu, José Vicente Sorlí, JOSE LOPEZ CASTRO, Gladys Mercedes Estigarribia Sanabria, Lídia S. Rosa, Vivian Nogueira Silbiger, Marta Sevilla Porras, Ángel Martínez-Pérez, Carmen Ayuso, Angela Gómez Sacristán, Pablo Lapunzina, Ana García-Soidán, Servando Cardona-Huerta, Rafael Henriques Jácomo, Cristina Hernández Moro, Víctor del Campo-Pérez, Miguel Angel López-Ruz, Irene García-García, Arieh R. 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Teresa Herranz, Ingrid Mendes, Esther Lopez-Garcia, Vicente Friaza, Silvia Martínez, Rosa Conde-Vicente, Pilar Jiménez, Florencia Guaragna, María Carmen García Torrejón, Francisco Arnalich Fernández, Raimundo de Andrés, Arnoldo Santos, Ignacio Gadea, María Lasa-Lazaro, Anderson Díaz-Pérez, Lisbeth A. Pichardo, Hugo Gonzalo Benito, José E. Lozano, Juan Pablo Vargas Gallo, Esther Sande, Sarah Heili-Frades, Juan De la Cruz Troca, Carlos Vilches, Covadonga M. Diaz-Caneja, German Ezequiel Rodriguez Novoa, Fernan Gonzalez Bernaldo de Quirós, Juan F. Gutiérrez-Bautista, Raquel C.S. Dantas-Komatsu, Luis Ortega, Carmen Mar, Enrique Bernal, Jair Antonio Tenorio Castaño, Jeane F.P. Medeiros, David A. Suarez-Zamora, Mara Parellada, Virginia Víctor, Beatriz González Álvarez, Antonio Herrero-Gonzalez, Shirley Camacho, Julia Vidán Estévez, Carlos Tellería, Lácides Fuenmayor-Hernández, Alberto Orfao, Alvaro Tamayo-Velasco, Cristina Sardiña González, José A. 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Carvalho, Anna González-Neira, Cristina Villaverde, María Gómez García, Javier Abellan, Pablo Neira, María José Herrero, Gabriela Escudero, Silvia Diz-de Almeida, Óscar Martínez-González, Emilio Rodríguez-Ruiz, Pablo Mariscal Aguilar, Virginia Olivar, Antònia Obrador-Hevia, J. Gonzalo Ocejo-Vinyals, Marta Martin-Fernandez, Nathalia K. Araujo, Walter G. Chaves- Santiago, Fabiola T.C. Silva, Virginia Almadana, Montserrat Ruiz, Jesús Troya, Fernando Sevil Puras, Marcela C. Campos, Ana Fernández-Cruz, Ramón Fernández, Carlos Rodriguez-Gallego, Patricia Muñoz García, Luz D. Gutierrez-Castañeda, Elsa Bravo, Roberto Pariente-Rodríguez, Esther Mancebo, Angel Carracedo, Laura Planas-Serra, Moncef Belhassen-Garcia, Ana Margarita Baldión, Aranzazu Diaz de Bustamante, Jorge Sánchez Redondo, Miguel Marcos, Pedro Pablo España, Xenia Morelos-Arnedo, Pablo Ryan, Sergio Alcolea Batres, Marcos A.C. Bezerra, Juan Delgado-Cuesta, René Acosta-Isaac, Belén Gil-Fournier, Maria Eugenia Vazquez Sanchez, Rafael Blancas, Rocio Nuñez- Torres, Agustín Valido, Germán Peces-Barba, Rocio Ortiz-Lopez, Carmen de Juan, Carlos F. Castaño, Raquel Cruz, María Concepción Sánchez Prados, Eunate Arana-Arri, Angela Gentile, Thássia M.T. Carratto, Silvia Fernández Ferrero, María Dolores Martín, Leticia García
article en

Abstract

Background Elevated levels of Von Willebrand Factor (VWF) have been associated to an increased need of mechanical ventilation and higher mortality risk in COVID-19 patients, but the hypothesis of a shared genetic background has not been explored. Methods Common and low-frequency genetic variants belonging to the VWF , FVIII , and ADAMTS13 genes were tested for association with clinical variables related to severe COVID-19 disease in 9,371 European and 3,495 Latin-American patients. Gene–environment and gene–gene interactions were also explored. Results A variant in the VWF gene was associated to the need of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) in the Latin-American population. Gene–gene interaction models pointed to an interaction between ADAMTS13 and VWF genes. Conclusion Although we did not find significant associations among Europeans, we identified a low-frequency variant belonging to the VWF gene associated with the need of IMV in Latin-Americans.

Frontiers in MedicineVol. 12
Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ES), Universidad de Cantabria (ES), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (ES), Hospital Universitario La Paz (ES), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ES), Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Candelaria (ES), Universidad Fernando Pessoa Canarias (ES), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (ES), Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital (ES), Instituto Tecnológico y de Energías Renovables (ES), Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research (ES), Center for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (ES), Instituto de Investigación Marqués de Valdecilla (ES), Fundación Pública Galega de Medicina Xenómica (ES), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago (ES), Servicio Gallego de Salud (ES), Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Raras (ES), Tecnológico de Monterrey (MX)
European Commission, Xunta de Galicia, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, European Regional Development Fund
Good health and well-being
Openalex Percentile: Top 92%
Complement system in diseases
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