HLA Mutations and COVID-19: The Science Behind Asymptomatic Infections

2023-07-20 21:13:11

According to the latest research in the United States, people with specific gene HLA mutations are several times more likely to be infected with the new crown but not get sick than ordinary people. The picture shows people screening for the new coronavirus during the epidemic. (File photo of this newspaper)

The latest research pointed out that people with specific gene mutations in their bodies are indeed several times more likely to be diagnosed with the new crown but not to develop the disease. This provides the first possible scientific explanation for the doubts about the so-called “chosen ones” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Washington Post” reported on the 20th, why does the new crown virus plague some people for a long time and not others? Part of the answer lies in mutations in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene, which plays a key role in the body’s ability to recognize and fight pathogens, new research suggests.

The scientific journal Nature (Nature) published a study on the 19th by a team led by Jill Hollenbach, a professor in the Department of Neurology and Epidemiology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). The research team recruited 29,947 bone marrow donors with high-quality genetic data available. If they are diagnosed with the new crown, they must use the APP to track their illness and symptoms every day, including runny nose, itchy throat, and fever. Subjects also recorded whether they had rapid screening every week and whether they were hospitalized every month.

During the nine-month study period, 1,428 unvaccinated people reported testing positive for the virus, of whom 136 were asymptomatic. 20% of the asymptomatic people have a common HLA mutation called “HLA-B*15:01” in their bodies, and those with double copies of “HLA-B*15:01” (one copy from each father and mother), the probability of being asymptomatic is more than 8 times higher than others.

According to the research team, the T cells of asymptomatic individuals with HLA mutations will activate the resistance mechanism as if they have encountered a coronavirus in the past when encountering a new coronavirus, making it easier to fight against the new coronavirus. In other words, people with this gene mutation can have “superpowers” after the common cold, and can control their own new coronavirus infection until they have no symptoms.

However, the sample group of this study is highly homogeneous. All participants are white, and 81% of them are women or identify as women; the research team is currently studying why some people are not only asymptomatic infections, but never infected? The genomes of about 2,000 of these groups are being analyzed to try to identify the genes responsible.

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