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Scientists from a California research institute have identified human genes responsible for fighting the SARS-CoV-2 virus. There are 65 of these genes, eight of which play a key role in inhibiting viral replication. The discovery may provide an answer to the question of why people react so differently to COVID-19 infection. Perhaps it will also allow the development of an effective antiviral drug.
- What makes the human body’s response to SARS-CoV-2 infection so different?
- Interferons, i.e. proteins produced in response to the presence of pathogens in the body, are responsible for the response
- Interferons, in turn, stimulate genes responsible for antiviral activity, known as ISG genes
- California researchers discovered 65 ISG genes responsible for the fight against COVID-19
- More current information can be found on the Onet homepage.
One of the most important mysteries of the coronavirus pandemic is why some infected people become asymptomatic, while others experience severe complications. Virologists have long suspected that our genes are responsible for the body’s response to COVID-19.
Researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys, a San Diego-based research institute, followed this lead. Their research was published in the journal Molecular Cell.
“We wanted to better understand the cellular response to SARS-CoV-2, and more specifically what drives a strong or weak response to an infection,” said Dr. Sumit K. Chanda, professor and director of the Immunity and Pathogenesis Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys, lead author of the study.
“We have gained new insight into how the virus uses the human cells it attacks, but we are still looking for its Achilles heel so that we can develop optimal antiviral drugs,” he added.
Genes in the fight against COVID-19
Immediately after the outbreak of the pandemic, clinicians noted that the poor response of interferons to SARS-CoV-2 infection resulted in severe COVID-19 cases.
Interferons are proteins that our cells produce in response to pathogens in the body.
Knowing this, Chanda and his team began searching for human interferon-triggered genes called interferon-stimulated (ISG) genes.
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Generally speaking, the products of ISG genes induced by interferons correspond, inter alia, to for its antiviral activity and immunomodulatory abilities. In this case, it was about the ISG genes that can limit SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Researchers, with a greater understanding of the SARS-CoV-1 virus, which triggered a wave of infections in Asia in 2002-2003, similar to SARS-CoV-2, were able to identify the ISG genes that control the replication of the virus.
65 genes control SARS-CoV-2 infection
“ We found that the SARS-CoV-2 infection was controlled by 65 ISG genes, some of which inhibited the virus’s ability to enter cells, others inhibited the production of RNA necessary for the virus to live, and there was a group of genes that stopped the virus from forming, ‘says Chanda.
In addition, the researchers also discovered that some ISG genes take control of other known pathogens, such as seasonal flu, the West Nile virus, and the HIV virus that causes AIDS.
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– We identified eight ISG genes that inhibited the replication of SARS-CoV-1 and CoV-2 in the subcellular compartment responsible for the protein envelope Said Dr. Laura Martin-Sancho, one of the authors of the study. This discovery may lead to the creation of appropriate drugs that will use this site to fight infection
‘This is important news, but we still need to learn more about the biology of the virus and investigate whether genetic variation in these ISGs is related to severe COVID-19 cases,’ added Dr Martich Sancho.
Now scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys will study the biology of various variants of the coronavirus. Subsequent COVID-19 strains are of concern to virologists as they mutate all the time and threaten the effectiveness of vaccines.
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