British scientists have discovered a gene that occurs up to three times more asymptomatically in people undergoing COVID-19 than in the general population. This indicates that people with this gene are protected to some extent from the disease.
- Scientists have found one gene is three times more common in people who have had COVID-19 without symptoms
- This is an important discovery that could explain why some people get COVID-19 but are not sick
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Genes influence the course of COVID-19
Researchers at Newcastle University compared the genetics of people who had asymptomatic coronavirus infection and those who developed severe disease despite no previous comorbidities.
They focused on the HLA genes encoding immunity-related human leukocyte antigens. According to the researchers, this is a much better approach than the genome-wide analysis used previously, in which many of the differences can be ignored.
As the analysis showed, one of the HLA genes – HLA-DRB1 * 04: 01 is three times more common in people with asymptomatic COVID-19. It also so happens that this gene is more common, for example, in the north and west of Europe.
— This is an important discovery that could explain why some people get COVID-19 but are not sick Says Dr. Carlos Echevarria, co-author of the study reported in the journal “HLA”. – It could lead us to develop genetic tests to determine who should have priority for future vaccines. It is important to know this on a population level. Because if many people are immune and they have COVID-19 without symptoms, they will run the risk of transmitting the virus to others, he adds.
Scientists note previous research into the relationship between HLA genes and various diseases.
For example, multiple sclerosis is more common in the north. This has been associated mainly with vitamin D deficiency, but the risk was found to increase in people who carry the DRB1 * 15: 01 gene, which is more common in higher latitudes.
– This highlights the complex interactions between the environment, genes and disease. We know that some HLA genes are related to vitamin D levels, and low levels of vitamin D are a risk factor for severe COVID-19. We are exploring this issue more deeply, says one author David Langton.
Author: Marek Matacz / PAP
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