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In each patient, the course and severity of the disease are greatly influenced by the interaction between the human immune system and SARS-CoV-2, a new type of coronavirus.
An important step in fighting virus replication in the early stages of infection is the immune response of so-called natural killer (NK) cells. There are special activation receptors on the surface of these cells, including the NKG2C receptor, which communicates with the infected cell through one of its special surface structures (HLA-E).
The result of this communication is that the cell infected by the virus dies.
However, about four percent of the population lacks the activating receptor NKG2C due to a genetic variant, and only 30 percent is partially available.
A research team from the Center for Virology at the Medical University of Vienna, led by Elisabeth Puchhammer-Stöckl, has shown that severe Covid-19 is more likely to develop in those who lack the NKG2C receptor or are only partially available.
In their study in the scientific journal Genetics in Medicine, the authors showed that Those who had to be treated in hospital for Covid-19 were significantly more likely to have the genetic variant that caused the receptor deficiency than those who had a milder course of the disease.
Patients treated in intensive care units, regardless of gender or age, were particularly prone to receptor deficiency. Genetic variations in the HLA-E structure of the infected cell have also been associated with the severity of the disease, although to a lesser degree.
Puchhammer-Stöckl explained.
Cover Image Source: Getty Images
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