[ad_1]
Published:
A few months ago the news came that a Neanderthal gene increases the risk of severe corona disease.
Now, the same researcher has found another Neanderthal gene that, instead, protects against severe covid-19.
– Our Neanderthal legacy is a double-edged sword, says researcher Hugo Zeberg of the Karolinska Institutet.
For nearly a year, the world of science has been searching for answers to why some get seriously ill from covid-19 while others manage to get away with it. In the fall, researchers from the Karolinska Institutet and the German Max Planck Institute added a new piece to the puzzle:
A gene on chromosome 3 that increases the risk of severe covid-19 could be related to Neanderthals. It is found in half the population of South Asia and in one in six Europeans. However, it is largely absent in Africa and East Asia.
– It turns out that this genetic variant passed from Neanderthals to modern humans when they intermixed about 60,000 years ago. Today, people who carry this genetic variant are up to three times more likely to end up on a respirator if they are infected with the new coronavirus sars-cov-2, said Hugo Zeberg of the Department of Neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute when the study was conducted. . presented in October.
Photo: iStockphoto
“Our Neanderthal legacy is a double-edged sword,” says researcher Hugo Zeberg.
So much reduces the risk
He conducted the research together with Svante Pääbo at the Max Planck Institute. Now, the same duo can show that Neanderthals also contributed a gene that protects against severe COVID-19.
The study, published in the journal PNAS, revolves around a DNA sequence on chromosome 12. Genes in this region regulate the activity of a protein that breaks down viruses, and the variant inherited from Neanderthals appears to make the protein more efficient, says Karolinska. Institutet.
The researchers can show that the new gene reduces the risk of IVA care with covid-19 by 20 percent.
– This shows that our Neanderthal heritage is a double-edged sword. They’ve given us genetic variants that we can be thankful for, but also other variants that we can curse them for, says Hugo Zeberg.
Increased since the ice age
The newly discovered gene has increased in frequency since the last ice age and is now found in half of all people outside of Africa.
– It is striking that this Neanderthal variant has become so common. This suggests that it has also been favorable in the past. It is also surprising that we find two Neanderthal variants with opposite effects on covid-19. Perhaps their immune system was adapted to pathogens other than ours, says Svante Pääbo.
Photo: Frank Franklin / TT
Neanderthal human skeleton in the foreground and modern human in the background. The two species coexisted in Europe for a period of 5,000 years.
Published:
