Coronavirus “hides in an unexpected place”? A study that split the experts

There are cases of people who have beaten COVID-19 but tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 again. This suggests that their immune systems were unable to fend off the second coronavirus attack or that they had a chronic infection. There is a third possible explanation: the virus may be hiding where we haven’t looked for it before. If confirmed, it could have serious repercussions in fighting the pandemic.

1. Scientists suspect that SARS-CoV-2 integrates its genetic code, and part of it, with human chromosomes
2. “If the phenomenon turns out to be real and frequent, it could have serious ramifications for the fight against COVID-19”
3. Virologist David Baltimore: These are just fragments of the coronavirus genome, so they cannot make infectious RNA or DNA. It is probably a biologically dead end
4. John Coffin, a retrovirologist, describes the work as “credible”, but as he says: “I doubt whether this phenomenon has significant biological significance.
5. Research leader Rudolf Jaenisch: article makes clear that integration could not lead to infectious SARS-CoV-2
6. More current information can be found on the Onet homepage.

What is it about? Scientists suspect that SARS-CoV-2 integrates its genetic code, and part of it, with human chromosomes. This is suggested by research conducted by a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The work was led by the molecular biologist Rudolf Jaenisch. The results have yet to be officially released to the public and reviewed. An article on this topic appeared in the prestigious journal Science.

It’s worth noting that some non-research scientists are divided over the importance of the new study, some fascinated, others very critical. “These are open questions that we will have to deal with,” replies Rudolf Jaenisch. Science points out that “if the phenomenon proves real and frequent, it could have serious ramifications for the fight against COVID-19. From false signals of active infection to misleading results of research on the drug for COVID-19 ».

Let’s start from the beginning.

Some survivors tested positive for COVID-19

All viruses introduce their genetic material into infected cells, but this generally remains separate from the cell’s own DNA. Meanwhile, MIT researchers puzzled over the cases of people who, despite beating COVID-19, tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. They suspected that the test could detect the presence of viruses in the samples, even if they were fragmented and could not produce new ones. Wanting to find out, they conducted a laboratory experiment. It turned out that the SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome is able to integrate with the DNA of our chromosomes.

This could explain the positive results of PCR tests in people who no longer have an active infection. The test then detects lingering traces of the coronavirus genetic material. As sciencemag.org writes, this could lead to flaws in research into COVID-19 therapies, in which PCR tests are used to measure changes in the amount of infectious SARS-CoV-2 in the body of patients.

Impressive, provocative, dangerous – experts divided

David Baltimore, virologist at the California Institute of Technology and Nobel laureate (for his discovery of the interactions between the genetic material of cancer viruses and host cells) described the work of Rudolf Jaenisch’s team as “impressive” and the findings as “unexpected”. However, the scientist points out that only a fragmentary interference with the SARS-CoV-2 genome has been proven. – As these are only fragments, they cannot make infectious RNA or DNA. For this reason, it is probably a biologically dead end, he commented, emphasizing, however, that “work raises many interesting questions”.

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HIV research virologist Melanie Ott says the findings are “provocative enough” and require careful observation and confirmation. Retrovirus researcher John Coffin of Tufts University describes the work as “credible”, but says, “I doubt whether this phenomenon is of great biological importance, despite the authors’ speculation.” Zandrea Ambrose of the University of Pittsburgh adds that such integration would be “extremely rare” if it really did.

One particularly harsh critic, a retrovirus scientist, called the findings of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers a “strong, dangerous, and largely unsubstantiated claim.” In response, Rudolf Jaenisch noted that the article made it clear that the integration that the authors believe could not lead to the infectious SARS-CoV-2.

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