Evidence of HLA-C*04:01 Link to COVID-19 Severity

In our Letter to the Editor published in the journal HLA: Immune Response Genetics, we delve into the statistically significant association between the HLA-C*04:01 allele and COVID-19 severity. This association, initially reported by our group in 2020 and 2021, has been replicated in multiple studies, including the extensive CanCOGeN CGEn HostSeq COVID-19 patient cohort (n=9,460). Our mini-review on the subject offers value not only to researchers engaged in COVID-19 association analyses but also to those exploring the involvement of HLA alleles in severe COVID-19 cases. In our Letter to the Editor, we recognize the challenges associated with replicating HLA associations and emphasize the significance of these discoveries in comprehending the genetic determinants of COVID-19 severity across various populations.