There are 13 genetic markers associated with Covid-19 infection and severity.

The study, published in the journal Nature, shows that 13 regions in the human genome are “strongly associated” with SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe development of COVID-19.

Smoking and high body mass index (BMI) were also among the causal factors identified by the researchers.

The results announced are based on one of the largest genome association studies ever conducted, involving nearly 50,000 COVID-19 patients and 2 million SARS-CoV-2-free control patients.

According to the study, of the 13 regions identified in the human genome, two had a higher frequency in patients from East and South Asia compared to patients from Europe.

The statement said that one of the two identified sites in the human genome, close to the FOXP4 gene, is associated with lung cancer, and the FOXP4 variant, associated with severe covid-19 disease, “increases gene expression.”

“Gene inhibition could be a potential therapeutic strategy,” the document says.

Other sites associated with severe covid-19 disease included the DPP9 gene, also associated with lung cancer and lung fibrosis, and the TYK2 gene, which is implicated in several autoimmune diseases.

The initiative, the result of a global effort of thousands of scientists and entitled COVID-19 Host Genomics Initiative, was initiated in March 2020 by Andrea Ganna, researcher at the Finnish Institute of Molecular Medicine (FIMM) at the University of Helsinki, and Mark Dali, FIM Director and Broad Institute Fellow Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard.

Since then, the initiative has become one of the largest collaborative projects in the field of human genetics, currently involving more than 3,300 authors and 61 studies from 25 countries.

Quoted in the statement, Mark Dali says that despite progress in the investigation, “there is still a long way to go.”

“We will probably see covid-19 as a serious health problem for a long time to come. Any therapy that comes out this year, for example by reusing an existing drug based on clear genetic knowledge, will have a big impact. “stress.

The researcher adds that the results show that “there is a lot of untapped potential in the use of genetics to understand and potentially develop treatments for infectious diseases.”

Andrea Ganna, also cited in the article, says this research and the steps taken to find reliable genetic signals “show how much better science is, how much faster it progresses,” and when there is collaboration between experts.

Ben Neal, co-director of the Medical Genetics Program at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and co-author of the study, also cited in the statement, says that while vaccines protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection, “there is still significant room for improved treatment.” Covid -nineteen.

According to the researcher, improved treatment approaches for COVID-19 could help “translate the pandemic into a more localized endemic disease that is present at low but constant levels in the population,” like the flu.

“The better we can treat covid-19, the better the medical community will be to control the disease,” says Ben Neal, adding that if there were mechanisms to treat the infection and remove patients from hospitals, “it would radically change the situation. health response. the public “.

Researchers who hope the results “point the way to beneficial therapeutic goals” will now examine what makes “truckers” different. [doentes que desenvolvem uma infeção prolongada] remaining patients, as well as to identify areas in the human genome associated with infections and serious diseases.

According to the latest estimate by Agence France-Presse, the covid-19 pandemic has caused at least 4,004,996 deaths worldwide as a result of more than 185 million new coronavirus infections.

The respiratory illness is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, discovered at the end of 2019 in Wuhan, a city in central China, and currently variants identified in countries such as the UK, India or South Africa.

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