Until now, no one suspected that this system was activated in the lungs, people thought it was in the liver cells, says Majid Kazemian.
A team of international scientists has found that they have found a genetic predisposition to the more severe course of COVID-19 and the effects that the virus has on the lungs.
“We found a way to understand which human genes can be activated when a virus infects a cell,” Majid Kazemian, a professor of computer science and biochemistry at Pardew University in Indiana, told Indiana. NOVA.
He and his team were able to detect an unexpected cellular response caused by COVID-19.
“What we witnessed was the presence of hundreds of human genes that were activated immediately after contact with the virus. Most of these cells are responsible for the body’s immune response to the disease. Our attention was drawn to a special group of genes that can be defined as an immune-complement system, “Majid Kazemian explained.
“Until now, no one suspected that this system was activated in the lungs. People thought it was in the liver cells. That is why I think the reaction we are talking about is unexpected,” he explained.
According to him, the system in question is presumably associated with the body’s protective immune response.
“What’s really interesting is the fact that the main components of this system are actually directly related to the amount of virus that is in the lungs. The faster the system is activated, the higher the virus content. And it also depends on how serious the disease will be for the patient, “Kazemian explained.
His team is researching more than 1,600 known and approved drugs for infectious diseases in the United States. However, scientists still do not have a definite answer to the question why COVID-19 is so resistant to drug treatment.
“In my opinion, what causes the severe form of COVID-19, which is the most difficult to treat, is the fact that the system that is supposed to protect us can easily be hyperactive and start harming us. If we find “way to stop this hyperactivation, then we will deal with the biggest challenge,” Kazemian said.
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