COVID: Having this gene lessens severity of infection by 20%

Updated on January 19, 2022 at 3:06 PM

Some of us are more affected by COVID than others. According to research, it could be because some people have a particular gene, which would lessen the severity of the infection by 20%.

COVID: Having this gene lessens severity of infection by 20%

As of 18 January, the number of COVID infections in the UK was estimated at more than 88,130 cases per day.

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Within those 88,130 people, not everyone is affected the same by the virus—some are asymptomatic, some show very few symptoms, and others, unfortunately, suffer greatly. A recent study reveals how two particular genes producing proteins are responsible for slashing and promoting COVID growth in the body.

OAS-1 protein

According to the Daily Mail, Swedish researchers claim to have uncovered a gene that lessens the severity of COVID infections by 20%.

The presence of the particular gene tells the body to make OAS-1—a protein believed to break down the Sras-CoV-2 virus. The longer the protein is present in the body, the sooner it can deal with the COVID virus and get rid of it.

As per the researchers, the presence of this gene depends on ethnicity. One in every three individuals with white European heritage carries this gene. Further, the study reveals that the gene is also found in eight out of ten people of African ancestry.

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TYK2 protein

On the other hand, the study by British researcher Kenneth Baillie revealed a protein that increases the chances of contracting COVID in certain patients. The activity of the TYK2 protein combines with that of CCR2 protein in the body, which could result in the host not being able to effectively mitigate the COVID virus.

Baillie explains:

Critical illness in COVID-19 is related to at least two biological mechanisms: innate antiviral defences, which are known to be important early in disease (IFNAR2 and OAS genes), and host-driven inflammatory lung injury, which is a key mechanism of late, life-threatening COVID-19 (DPP9, TYK2 and CCR2).

The TYK2 gene can have several variants, and each individual will have one of them. This influences whether the person's immunity will be less or more active.