At least 99.9% of two humans are genetically identical. It's the 0.1 percent that makes us unique.
This is what makes us unique, from our appearances to our susceptibility or resistance to certain diseases like HIV. Some tiny changes in the genetic code can make a huge difference for an individual and society.
It may be possible to develop drugs that mimic these genetic differences by learning more about these genes and the people who have them.
Researchers are now looking for people who may be immune to the SARS/CoV-2 virus. Your genes may hold the key to possibly treating COVID-19.
"Introducing SARS-CoV-2 in a naive population has provided yet another example of the remarkable clinical variability among individuals in the course of illness, ranging from asymptomatic infection to life-threatening diseases," writes a team of researchers led by Evangelos Andreakos, an immunologist from the Academy of Athens.
Although our understanding of COVID-19's life-threatening disease has improved significantly since its first description in December 2019, we still don't know much about the human genetic or immunological basis for inborn resistance to SARS.
Even though we don't have much information on this inborn resistance it doesn't necessarily mean that it isn't there. Researchers note that COVID can infect whole families, sometimes with only one spouse. There have been other reports where people managed to avoid it even after being in the "line of fire" multiple times.
This has also been the subject of serious research, but only a few differences have been found.
We reported last year, for example, that O blood showed a slight resistance against severe SARS-CoV-2 infections. Other studies have also looked at proteins like the ACE2 receptor and TMEM41B, which the coronavirus appears to need to enter the cell or replicate once it is inside.
Researchers suggest that more research is needed to discover those individuals who are genetically resistant to SARS/CoV-2. They have some suggestions.
The team proposes a strategy to identify, recruit, and genetically analyze individuals who are naturally resistant against SARS-CoV-2.
"We begin by focusing on the uninfected household contact of patients with COVID-19. Then, we consider people who have been exposed to the index case for at least one hour per day and the first 3-5 days after symptoms appear in the index case.
The person would then need to be tested for negative PCR and negative blood work within four weeks. Particular attention should be given to T cells in order to confirm that they have not been infected previously.
This is great news! Researchers are still seeking participants to their research.
Researchers wrote that they had already enrolled over 400 people who meet the criteria to be included in a special resistance study cohort.
"Collaborative enrollment of study participants continues (link here), and subjects are welcome from all parts of the globe.
We are seeing some areas of life become a little more normal thanks to vaccines and promising drugs.
COVID is likely to be around for many years yet. Finding people with a genetic chance of being protected from the virus, especially in the event of new highly virulent strains, could be a boon for us all.
This viewpoint was published in Nature Immunology.
