Genetic Factors May Explain Severe COVID Symptoms

 

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers have published information in the journal Science that may explain why some people develop severe forms of COVID-19, while other people experience mild cases. The researchers say many people who develop severe symptoms have “misguided” antibodies that attack their immune systems instead of the virus. 

Of the individuals studied, researchers found that the abnormal immune response occurred much more often in men than in women, which probably accounts for the fact that men with COVID often become sicker than women. These findings are some of the first published by the COVID Human Genetic Effort, a global collaborative project that has enrolled thousands of people into studies to explore potential genetic factors that may contribute to the severity of the disease.

According to the NIH, the researchers said that over 10 percent of the individuals who developed severe symptoms had misguided antibodies that attacked their immune systems, and that 3.5 percent or more who participated, and that developed severe symptoms, carried a specific genetic mutation. Researchers found that both groups lacked the immune responses crucial for protecting their cells and their bodies from viruses that often developed into life-threatening pneumonia.

“The findings suggest that in a small group of people with serious Covid-19 infections, the body’s interferon response appears to be malfunctioning either due to genetic issues or wayward antibodies,” said the researchers. The NIH said that the researchers’ discovery could affect how people with COVID-19 are treated, since synthetic interferons — which are under investigation to treat SARS-CoV-2 — and therapies aimed at removing damaging antibodies, might be useful.

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