Old genes of Neanderthals increase the risk of serious course Covid-19 – Wel.nl

The Neanderthals, who crossed with humans tens of thousands of years ago, left their marks in our DNA. In fact, those old genes are now causing a lot of trouble. Certain Neanderthal DNA triples the chance of a severe course of Covid-19, according to a new study.

Dangerous genes
About 16 percent of Europeans and half of all inhabitants of South Asia have the Neanderthals DNA string, a legacy of more than 50,000 years ago. The risky genes came to light when German and Swedish scientists compared the DNA of very sick corona patients with that of Neanderthals. There appeared to be a strong resemblance between a number of genes that make people very sick and a Neanderthal from Croatia.

“I almost fell off my chair because one segment of the DNA exactly matched that of the Neanderthal genome,” says researcher Hugo Zeberg of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm to the Guardian. Zeberg and co-author Svante Pääbo of Germany’s Max Planck Institute suspect that the old genes have been preserved in modern humans because they were once beneficial, for example in the fight against other infectious diseases. Only now, with a new virus, does the risk of the genes come to light.

Immune response
It is not entirely clear how the genes can worsen Covid-19, but one gene plays a role in the immune response and another is linked to the mechanism the virus uses to invade human cells. “The genes have protected Neanderthals against other infectious diseases that no longer exist today. And now that we are confronted with the new coronavirus, those genes have tragic consequences, ”says Pääbo.

The researcher, who led the international team that first deciphered the Neanderthal genome in 2010, estimates that roughly an additional 100,000 people died from the coronavirus because of the Neanderthals genes.

It should be noted, however, that the researchers must be careful not to simplify cause and effect in the pandemic. There are many different reasons why the virus strikes more or less hard. The old genes are just one aspect.

Bron (nen): The Guardian – .