Small genetic differences in our DNA are being tracked by scientists to understand why COVID-19 has different effects on different people and develop novel drugs that might be beneficial in aiding more COVID-19 patients, according to an article published in The Guardian.
It is still unclear how the effects of the virus are not uniform: In some cases, young people with no prevailing ailments developed life-threatening consequences whereas their peers don’t suffer due the virus at all.
Researchers believe the mystery behind this lies in tiny differences in our genetic makeup.
According to the research mutations in some people may lead to insufficient supplies of interferon (a molecular messenger that stimulates immune defenses against invading viruses ) in our bodies that is essential to generate the required immune response.
“They are natural biological experiments which suggest that people who make more interferon when infected have a better response to the disease. And that in turn tells us that patients could well benefit from treatment with interferon.”Martin Hibberd, professor of emerging infectious diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Researchers, though relieved at finding a different route to treat COVID-19 patients, are worried about the time it might take to come up with the full-proof treatment plan.
“The crucial point is that by understanding the impact of gene variants in the body we can now think about finding drugs that could block their pathways and help patients. The bad news is that it can take years of experiments to find treatments this way. The good news is that there are now so many scientists working on this kind of thing that we might still some quick answers.”Jeffrey Barrett, part of the Wellcome Sanger Institute’s Covid-19 genomic surveillance programme
A gene known as TYK2 has also been paid attention to. This gene has a history of causing severe COVID. Baricitinip, a drug made to treat to rheumatoid arthritis (also caused by TYK2) has been functional in treating COVID patients, according to Eli Lilly.
Furthermore, in the recent issue of Science, scientists, led by Kenneth Baillie, Edinburgh University have uncovered other genes such OAS genes might play a crucial role. OAS genes, triggered by interferon, code for protein are used in breaking down viral RNA, frome which COVID-19 virus is made.
(With inputs from The Guardian)
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