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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.12.11.422139

The MERS-CoV receptor gene is among COVID-19 risk factors inherited from Neandertals

Zeberg, H.·Paabo, S.
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Abstract

In the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, two genetic regions derived from Neandertals have been shown to increase and decrease, respectively, the risk of falling severely ill upon infection. Here, we show that 2-8% of people in Eurasia carry a variant promoter region of the DPP4 gene inherited from Neandertals. This gene encodes an enzyme that serves as a receptor for the coronavirus MERS-CoV and is currently not believed to be a receptor for SARS-CoV-2. However, the Neandertal DPP4 variant doubles the risk to become critically ill in COVID-19.

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Zeberg, H., Paabo, S.. 2020-12-12. The MERS-CoV receptor gene is among COVID-19 risk factors inherited from Neandertals. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.12.11.422139

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