Scientists have discovered more than a dozen genetic traits that may explain why some people are more vulnerable to severe Covid than others.
Up to 16 DNA changes have been found in critically ill patients with the virus, many of which are associated with blood clotting and inflammation.
One genetic variant has been found to be slower to signal to the immune system that cells are under attack by a virus.
According to the largest study of its kind, having just one of the genes could be the difference between a cough or an intensive care hospital admission.
As part of a publicly funded study, experts from the University of Edinburgh examined the genes of more than 57,000 people across the UK, including 9,000 Covid patients.
This is not the first time research has shown that different genes may predispose certain people to severe Covid disease.
But scientists hope the latest discovery will help identify new drugs and treatments in the future. Their earlier work has already helped discover that baricitinib, an arthritis drug, can treat some patients at risk of severe disease.
Pictured here is one gene variant found in the study called interferon alfa-10 (IFNA10) (highlighted in dark blue). Scientists have found that this gene variant, which helps cells signal the body’s immune system that they are under attack from the virus, has been linked to increased cases of critical illness from Covid.
Professor Kenneth Bailey, an intensive care expert at the University of Edinburgh and the study’s principal investigator, said identifying the genes that make people more at risk of contracting Covid could help develop new treatments for the virus and possibly other conditions.
WHAT IS WHOLE GENOME SEQUENCING?
Whole genome sequencing allows researchers to read all the little bits of code that make us who we are.
The human genome is made up of over three billion pairs of building block molecules and is grouped into approximately 25,000 genes.
It contains codes and instructions that tell the body how to grow and develop, but deficiencies in the instructions can lead to disease.
Many argue that patient blood tests will allow doctors to identify rare diseases caused by genetic mutations.
Former Prime Minister David Cameron launched a project to sequence 100,000 genomes of NHS patients with a known rare disease or cancer.
Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davis wants to create a central genetic database within the next five years to help research.
She said genetic testing should become as routine as MRIs, although patients will have the option to opt out.
The first sequence of the human genome, completed in 2003 by the Human Genome Project, took 15 years and cost £2.15 billion ($3 billion).
The study, funded in part by the Department of Health, did not analyze the risk of serious illness by gene or which Britons may be at greater risk than others based on their background.
However, they said certain genes are associated with a doubling of the risk of severe illness from Covid.
In a study published in the journal NatureScientists have sequenced the complete genomes of nearly 7,500 Britons in need of intensive care for Covid.
They then compared those genomes to about 1,600 people who had mild Covid and about 48,000 people who never had the virus.
The scientists found key differences in 16 genes in intensive care patients.
One variant of the gene, called interferon alpha-10, has been found to be less effective in signaling to the body’s immune system that cells have been attacked by a virus, and people with that version of the gene are more likely to die from Covid.
Another gene variant called Factor 8, which is associated with a bleeding disorder with hemophilia, has also been found in critically ill patients.
One of the genes the team found was found to be 40% more common in people of East Asian ancestry compared to people of European ancestry.
It is hoped that one day genetic testing will be able to reveal a person’s risk of various conditions and diseases, such as Covid.
Edinburgh professor Kenneth Bailey, an expert in critical care medicine and the study’s principal investigator, said the discovery of new Covid risk genes opened the door to potential new treatments.
“These results explain why some people develop life-threatening Covid while others have no symptoms at all,” he said.
“But more importantly, it gives us a deep understanding of the disease process and is a big step forward in finding more effective treatments.”
Professor Sir Mark Caulfield, an expert in pharmacology at Queen Mary University of London and co-author of the study, said that as the virus continues to evolve, finding new ways to reduce the number of people who become seriously ill is critical.
“During our whole genome sequencing study, we discovered new gene variants that predispose people to severe illness, which now offer a path to new tests and treatments to help protect the public and the National Health Service from this virus,” he said.
The proportion of patients seriously ill with Covid has dropped in recent months, in part due to the success of Covid vaccines in reducing the chances of becoming seriously ill.
China records highest number of Covid cases in TWO YEARS
China today recorded the highest number of Covid cases in two years, as clusters emerge in several major cities.
The country has reported 526 infections detected in the last 24 hours, including 312 cases it says were asymptomatic – with no warning signs.
It was the highest daily figure since the initial outbreak in Wuhan at the start of the pandemic.
China is pursuing a zero Covid policy, under which its cities quarantine and mass testing ordered when a case is discovered.
But the more contagious variant of Omicron has repeatedly broken through this protection in the country, causing many cases.
China is also facing accusations that it did not report the exact number of detected cases, with the true total thought to be higher.
The surge comes as cases spiral out of control across the border in Hong Kong’s southern Chinese territory, where hospitals are overwhelmed with patients and panicked locals are buying up fears of a lockdown.
The results were not based on a single Covid variant: DNA samples from patients for genome sequencing were collected throughout the pandemic.
Dr Rich Scott, chief medical officer of Genomics England, who also took part in the study, added that the researchers had made great efforts to ensure that the diversity of the UK population was represented in the study.
The researchers’ previous work, a collaborative effort of scientists called the GenOMICC consortium, has already helped develop some new treatments for Covid.
They previously found that a variant of a gene called TYK2, which is associated with inflammation, was associated with an increased risk of Covid intensive care hospitalization and death.
The discovery helped lead to the approval of clinical trials for baricitinib, a drug already developed to target this gene in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
The results of this study, published last week, showed that the risk of death of seriously ill patients with Covid was reduced by a fifth.
The scientists hope that further work on the 16 genes will similarly identify potential new treatments that could also develop new treatments for Covid.
However, they added that severe inflammation and blood clots in the lungs are conditions associated with other diseases, and that any potential treatments for these symptoms in Covid patients could be of further use.
The number of people seriously ill with Covid in the UK has decreased in the months since the Omicron variant was introduced.
This is partly due to the milder nature of the Omicron version of the virus compared to previous variants, as well as the success of the UK’s Covid vaccination program, with more than two-thirds of eligible Britons fully vaccinated.
As of March 3, the latest available data showed 264 Covid patients on ventilators in the UK, considered the most critically ill with the virus.
This is a far cry from January 2021, when there were over 4,000 patients in a similar situation.