A common TMPRSS2 variant protects against severe COVID-19

Infection with SARS-CoV-2 has a wide range of clinical presentations, from asymptomatic to life-threatening. Old age is the strongest factor associated with increased COVID19-related mortality, followed by sex and pre-existing conditions. The importance of genetic and immunological factors on COVID19 outcome is also starting to emerge, as demonstrated by population studies and the discovery of damaging variants in genes controlling type I IFN immunity and of autoantibodies that neutralize type I IFNs. The human protein transmembrane protease serine type 2 (TMPRSS2) plays a key role in SARS-CoV-2 infection, as it is required to activate the virus’ spike protein, facilitating entry into target cells. We focused on the only common TMPRSS2 non-synonymous variant predicted to be damaging (rs12329760), which has a minor allele frequency of ∼25% in the population. In a large population of SARS-CoV-2 positive patients, we show that this variant is associated with a reduced likelihood of developing severe COVID19 (OR 0.87, 95%CI:0.79-0.97, p=0.01). This association was stronger in homozygous individuals when compared to the general population (OR 0.65, 95%CI:0.50-0.84, p=1.3×10⁻³). We demonstrate in vitro that this variant, which causes the amino acid substitution valine to methionine, impacts the catalytic activity of TMPRSS2 and is less able to support SARS-CoV-2 spike-mediated entry into cells.

TMPRSS2 rs12329760 is a common variant associated with a significantly decreased risk of severe COVID19. Further studies are needed to assess the expression of the TMPRSS2 across different age groups. Moreover, our results identify TMPRSS2 as a promising drug target, with a potential role for camostat mesilate, a drug approved for the treatment of chronic pancreatitis and postoperative reflux esophagitis, in the treatment of COVID19. Clinical trials are needed to confirm this.