Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The relentless spread and pathogenicity of the virus have become a global public health emergency. One of the striking features of this pandemic is the pronounced impact on specific regions and ethnic groups. In particular, compared with East Asia, where the virus first emerged, SARS-CoV-2 has caused high rates of morbidity and mortality in Europe. This has not been experienced in past global viral infections, such as influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and is unique to SARS-CoV-2. For this reason, we investigated the involvement of genetic factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection with a focus on angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-related genes, because ACE2 is a receptor for SARS-CoV-2. We found that the ACE1 II genotype frequency in a population was significantly negatively correlated with the number of SARS-CoV-2 cases. Similarly, the ACE1 II genotype was negatively correlated with the number of deaths due to SARS-CoV-2 infection. These data suggest that the ACE1 II genotype may influence the prevalence and clinical outcome of COVID-19 and serve as a predictive marker for COVID-19 risk and severity.

严重急性呼吸系统综合症冠状病毒-2 (SARS-CoV-2) 导致冠状病毒病 2019 (COVID-19)。病毒的无情传播和致病性已成为全球突发公共卫生事件。这种流行病的显着特征之一是对特定地区和民族的显着影响。特别是，与病毒最初出现的东亚相比，SARS-CoV-2 在欧洲造成了较高的发病率和死亡率。这在过去的全球病毒感染中是没有经历过的，例如流感、严重急性呼吸系统综合症 (SARS) 和中东呼吸综合症 (MERS)，并且是 SARS-CoV-2 独有的。出于这个原因，我们调查了与 SARS-CoV-2 感染相关的遗传因素的参与，重点是血管紧张素转换酶 (ACE) 相关基因，因为 ACE2 是 SARS-CoV-2 的受体。我们发现人群中ACE1 II 基因型频率与 SARS-CoV-2 病例数呈显着负相关。同样，ACE1 II 基因型与 SARS-CoV-2 感染导致的死亡人数呈负相关。这些数据表明，ACE1 II 基因型可能会影响 COVID-19 的患病率和临床结果，并可作为 COVID-19 风险和严重程度的预测标志物。