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Updated: Oct 19, 2025

Visualization of SARS-CoV-2 using Immuno RNA-Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization
Published on: December 23, 2020
Network-based analysis revealed significant interactions between risk genes of severe COVID-19 and host genes
Hao-Xiang Qi1, Qi-Dong Shen1, Hong-Yi Zhao1
1Department of Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Tai'an 271099, Shandong, China.
Abstract:
Whether risk genes of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from genome-wide association study could play their regulatory roles by interacting with host genes that were interacted with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) proteins was worthy of exploration. In this study, we implemented a network-based approach by developing a user-friendly software Network Calculator (https://github.com/Haoxiang-Qi/Network-Calculator.git). By using Network Calculator, we identified a network composed of 13 risk genes and 28 SARS-CoV-2 interacted host genes that had the highest network proximity with each other, with a hub gene HNRNPK identified. Among these genes, 14 of them were identified to be differentially expressed in RNA-seq data from severe COVID-19 cases. Besides, by expression enrichment analysis in single-cell RNA-seq data, compared with mild COVID-19, these genes were significantly enriched in macrophage, T cell and epithelial cell for severe COVID-19. Meanwhile, 74 pathways were significantly enriched. Our analysis provided insights for the underlying genetic etiology of severe COVID-19 from the perspective of network biology.
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