Host methylation predicts SARS-CoV-2 infection and clinical outcome

Genome-wide DNA methylation profiling of peripheral blood from 164 SARS-CoV-2 positive, 296 SARS-CoV-2 negative, and 65 other respiratory infection patient samples. Samples were profiled on a custom Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation BeadChip array including all MethylationEPIC-B4 probes and additional custom content targeting immune genes. SARS-CoV-2 positivity is defined by a positive RT-PCR test. "Other infection" samples are SARS-CoV-2 negative and were tested with a panel of common human acute respiratory infection pathogens. Bisulfite converted DNA from 525 samples were hybridised to a custom Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation BeadChip with the EPIC-B4 backbone and 7831 additional custom probes