Breakthrough discovery in effective treatment of Covid-19
British scientists have identified a gene that doubles the risk of death from Covid-19, helping the medical community better understand why some people are more susceptible to the disease than others, and opening up new directions in the treatment of this disease.
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| Medical staff treat a Covid-19 patient at a hospital in Cambridge, England. Photo: AFP/TTXVN |
About 60% of people of South Asian descent have a particular gene that puts them at high risk of contracting Covid-19, according to a study by Oxford University scientists published in the journal Nature Genetics on November 5. Experts say the discovery partly explains why the death toll is higher in certain British communities and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Indian subcontinent.
With the above research, scientists concluded that the risk of the disease becoming severe, even leading to death, is not due to differences in the genetic coding of proteins, but due to differences in DNA - which is capable of creating a kind of "switch" to activate a special type of gene.
This genetic signal is likely to affect cells in the lungs, while a particular version of the gene that may put people at high risk of Covid-19 – called LZTFL1 – may prevent cells lining the airways and lungs from blocking the virus from entering.
However, the LZTFL1 gene does not affect the body's immune system in creating antibodies to fight infection. According to the researchers, people with the LZTFL1 gene still respond well to the Covid-19 vaccine.
Professor James Davies, who co-led the study, said: "This finding shows that the way the lungs respond to viruses entering the body is very important." He explained that this research has great significance in opening up new directions for effective treatment of COVID-19, as "most current treatments are focused on changing the way the immune system responds to the virus."
