According to research, published in the journal Nature, a group of genes, present in 15% to 20% of those who become seriously ill, is specialized in destroying the only molecule capable of building a barrier against SarsCoV2 infection. namely interferon
Why in some cases Covid triggers aggressive pneumonia while other cases remain asymptomatic? This is one of the most frequent questions that doctors and scientists have asked themselves in these two years.
Aggressive pneumonia
The answer is now a discovery, published in Nature, according to which at the origin of the severe forms of Covid-19 there would be a group of genes, present from 15% to 20% of those who become seriously ill, specialized in destroying the only molecule capable of building a barrier against SarsCoV2 infection, namely interferon.
The discovery published in the journal Nature
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The finding, published in the journal Nature, is the key to understanding why the disease triggers aggressive pneumonia in some while others remain asymptomatic.
The result is the culmination of the research begun in 2020 by the international group coordinated by Jean-Laurent Casanova, of Rockefeller University, in collaboration with the international consortium of genetics “Covid Human Genetic Effort” in which Italy participated with the group by Giuseppe Novelli, of the Tor Vergata University of Rome, and with the San Raffaele Institute of Milan, the University of Brescia, the Bambino Gesù Hospital in Rome.
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In the genes linked to severe forms of the disease, some of which have been described in recent months by the same research group, there are some that have to do with the so-called innate immunity, that is, with the ability of each individual to defend themselves from the virus . This discovery was awarded in 2011 with the Nobel Prize for Medicine to Bruce Beutler and Jules Hoffmann.
“We have shown – underlines Giuseppe Novelli of the University of Rome Tor Vergata – that most of the seriously ill have a defect in the production of interferon, that is, they are unable to produce or even destroy the molecule that plays a key role against the typical cytokine storm. of the severe forms of Covid-19. This happens because the sensor molecules that activate the receptors of the immune cells called Tlr, which have the task of warning of the danger, are not produced “. Basically, in those who contract the severe form of Covid-19, the immune system does not activate and does not raise any alarm, leaving the virus completely free. Not only does Novelli add: “It is a discovery that opens the doors to personalized therapy, a goal that can only be achieved by genetic screening of severe forms”.
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At the same time, the secrets of natural immunity can be explored and the researchers’ next step could be to study the super-immune individuals, that is, those who do not contract the infection, or those who after being infected, remain asymptomatic. Studying natural immunity is also important to have new tools to fight the virus, alongside the acquired immunity given by vaccines. In fact, the researchers note that “it is not clear whether the vaccines will remain effective in the long term and whether they will also be effective against any new variants of the virus”.