U.K. scientists find a high-risk genetic variant that is in a chromosome region also tied to double the risk of death in COVID-19 patients under age 60
British scientists have identified a version of a gene that may be associated with double the risk of lung failure from COVID-19, a finding that provides new insights into why some people are more susceptible than others to severe illness and which opens possibilities for targeted medicine.
Around 60% of people with South Asian ancestry carry the high-risk version of the gene, researchers at Oxford University said on Friday, adding the discovery may partly explain the high number of deaths seen in some British communities, and the devastation wrought by COVID-19 in the Indian subcontinent.
As a result, the gene variant could inhibit proper response to the virus among cells lining airways and the lungs. The study “shows that the way in which the lung responds to the infection is critical. This is important because most treatments have focussed on changing the way in which the immune system reacts to the virus,” said Professor James Davies, co-lead of the study.
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