UK scientists identify 16 genes behind severe Covid symptoms

<p>
<strong>A team of researchers in the UK has identified some 16 new genetic variants that can increase the severity of Covid-19 infection.</strong></p>
<p>
The genes include some related to blood clotting, immune response, and intensity of inflammation.<br />
<br />
"Our latest findings point to specific molecular targets in critical Covid-19. These results explain why some people develop life-threatening Covid-19, while others get no symptoms at all," said Professor Kenneth Baillie, Consultant in Critical Care Medicine at University of Edinburgh.<br />
<br />
The study, published in the journal Nature, showed how a single gene variant that disrupts a key messenger molecule in immune system signalling — called interferon alpha-10 — was enough to increase a patient's risk of severe disease.<br />
<br />
This highlights the gene's key role in the immune system and suggests that treating patients with interferon — proteins released by immune cells to defend against viruses — may help manage disease in the early stages.<br />
<br />
The study also found that variations in genes that control the levels of a central component of blood clotting — known as Factor 8 — were associated with critical illness in Covid-19.<br />
<br />
This may explain some of the clotting abnormalities that are seen in severe cases of Covid-19. Factor 8 is the gene underlying the most common type of haemophilia, the researchers said.<br />
<br />
"It is now true to say that we understand the mechanisms of Covid better than the other syndromes we treat in intensive care in normal times — sepsis, flu, and other forms of critical illness. Covid-19 is showing us the way to tackle those problems in the future," Baillie said.<br />
<br />
For the study, the team sequenced the genomes of 7,491 patients from 224 intensive care units in the UK.<br />
<br />
Their DNA was compared with 48,400 other people who had not had Covid-19, and that of a further 1,630 people who had experienced mild Covid.<br />
<br />
Determining the whole genome sequence for all participants in the study allowed the team to create a precise map and identify genetic variation linked to severity of Covid-19.<br />
<br />
The team found key differences in 16 genes in the ICU patients when compared with the DNA of the other groups.<br />
<br />
They also confirmed the involvement of seven other genetic variations already associated with severe Covid-19 discovered in earlier studies from the same team.<br />
<br />
The findings offer a route to new tests and treatments, to help protect the public from this virus, the team said.</p>
<p>
<strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/how-sanctions-against-russia-can-hit-the-electric-car-revolution-climate-change-155732.html">How sanctions against Russia can hit the electric car revolution, climate change </a></strong></p>