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Scientists are trying to determine whether the susceptibility and resistance to SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection may be genetically determined. Such research is prompted, among others, by the situation in Italy, where the death rate from COVID-19 is much higher than in other countries. Prof. Anna Latos-Bieleńska talks about the first indications that the deficiency of a certain enzyme, encoded by the G6PD gene, is important here.
The question of why the SARS-CoV-2 virus turned out to be the most lethal in Italy remains open. There are usually two main factors that could have led to the difficult situation in this country. The first is the high average age – around 20 percent. Italian citizens are 65 or older, and this it is in seniors that the COVID-19 disease is the most severe.
On the other hand, the second of the most frequently mentioned reasons is the lifestyle of Italians, who initially downplayed the seriousness of the situation and bent the rules of quarantine. There are also voices that a more “virulent” variant of the virus could have reached Italy, but it still undergoes certain mutations. This hypothesis is taken into account by prof. Miłosz Parczewski, head of the Department of Infectious Diseases, Tropical Diseases and Acquired Immunological Deficiencies, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin.
Also read: Coronavirus mutates. Has a more “virulent” type reached Italy?
Do genes have anything to do with risk of developing disease?
Another important factor in the interview for Puls Medycyny was pointed out by prof. dr hab. n. med. Anna Latos-Bieleńska, specialist in clinical genetics and laboratory medical genetics, head of the Chair and Department of Medical Genetics at the Medical University of Poznań. According to prof. Latos-Bieleńska, the course of the pandemic in Italy (and also in Spain) could have been affected by the deficiency of the enzyme regulating transformations in red blood cells – glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. This enzyme is encoded by the G6PD gene. The geneticist explains that in Europe, the deficiency of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase most often affects people living in the Mediterranean basin. In Italy, it occurs in 1,1 percent. population, and in Sardinia as much as 10-15 percent. In Poland, it happens to one person in 1000.
As prof. Latos-Bieleńska, people with a significantly reduced activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase usually do not experience any symptoms, but this defect may lead them to e.g. haemolytic anemia. In the course of research on the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, several indications appeared that may indicate a relationship of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency with susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the severe course of COVID-19 disease. However, further research is needed to be sure that this is the case.
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Have a question about the coronavirus? Send them to the following address: [email protected]. You will find a daily updated list of answers HERE: Coronavirus – frequently asked questions and answers.